In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus deals with three men in regard to becoming His followers. Their words seem genuine, but Jesus sees their hearts. And His responses highlight important aspects of true faith.
1. The first man says, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Following Christ it's a lifestyle commitment. For this man, it meant leaving his home and family, and Jesus wanted him to count the cost (Luke 14:25-34). Not all of us are called to leave family, but all of us are called to leave behind worldly goals (1 John 2:15-17).
2. Jesus calls the second man to follow and he says, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
There are different views as to what this man meant, but Jesus sees his heart and knows he's hesitant to move from spiritual death to spiritual life. We can't place conditions on following Christ (Matthew 16:24).
3. The third man says, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
This man's response was similar to the second man's and Jesus detected a half-hearted commitment, a lack of follow-through (Revelation 3:14-22).
The first man was ready to commit without counting the cost. The second man wasn't ready to commit, and the third man thought he could commit half-heartedly. In each case, Christ pointed out that genuine faith involves whole-hearted, life-changing commitment.
Have you made that whole-hearted commitment?
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