Key Passage: Luke 9: 58-59

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

A folk tale was told of a meeting by animals in a farm in which they decided to support their master’s feast with bacon and omelet. When the hen boasted of her contribution to the feast, the pig was quick to tell her, “You are involved but I am committed.” The pig had to die for the bacon to be prepared.

True Christianity is about discipleship; and discipleship is not just about involvement but commitment – total commitment. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt 16:24). What matters is not just to say that I have God in my heart, but that he rules in my life.

The person in the above passage was described in Matthew 8:18 as a Scribe. He was from the elite of his time. He came to Jesus with great promising words, “I will follow you wherever you go.” That is similar to some of the promises we make to God in church or when we are in trouble. But Jesus knew his heart and lifestyle, and made him realize that following him is not a bed of roses. The Christian life is full of challenges and is only successfully lived by faith. It promises prosperity, but also has its poverty and deprivations. It promises liberty, but also has its cross. It promises peace and comfort, but does not let you stay in your comfort zone. It takes more than being involved to satisfy the Master; it takes total commitment. Indeed, it takes your whole life.

The question is, “Where Is God in Your Life?” Are you ready to truly say, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Lk 22:33). That is the bottom-line.

Pray: Lord, I lay down all to You; rule in my life that I may be Yours now and forever.

Written by – Evangelist Oguazi Onyemobi