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I Will Follow You...??
Kyle Lum"Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”"
- Matthew 8:19-20 (NLT)
Jesus is in the move once again. Instructing His disciples to shove off and make their way across the lake, He is approached by a teacher of religious law--a priest of sorts--and he wants to tag along.
His pledge is sincere, no doubt, and his intention seems good. He tells Jesus with great confidence, "I will follow You, wherever You go!"
And Jesus, seeing the zeal and eagerness in the eyes of this teacher, doesn't give him a yes or no answer straight out. He answers with a snapshot of what his response will yield; the choice will then be his and his alone.
"Foxes have dens and birds have nests..." this is already setting the tone of what this young disciple needs to do, just as Peter, John, and the others did...leave the comfort of den and nest.
"...but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." I'm reading that this is the commitment of the Christ-follower; to go with Jesus means to go into the unknown, to go no place, nowhere..but wherever that is, JESUS WILL LEAD.
We don't hear if this teacher ever took the challenge and followed Him.
As I type this out I'm listening to Chris Tomlin singing "I Will Follow", where the chorus says "Where You go, I'll go, where You stay I'll stay, when You move, I'll move, I will follow You.."
Many young and zealous disciples of Jesus belt this song out in youth groups, and still in some churches too. The words and beat are powerful and penetrating, and to be caught in the emotion of making a pledge in that chorus is a tangible rush to the senses!
But what about Jesus' response to the pledge that elicits a response in kind?
I'll follow You, but give it all up?
It may not always be that wood-grained, air-conditioned, strobe lit, carpeted, preamplified, 2-shot caramel wall macchiato, skinny jean, designer shirt Christianity.
In fact, it may need to take all that away...and be dirt-floored, sweaty, sickly, messy, unappreciated, and hard-hearted foot washing...loving the most difficult people in our circles to love...that's what Jesus calls us to follow Him into...because wherever He leads us...He is there! He loves all, and wants His disciples to be His hands and feet. Can we follow Him there?
It will mean leaving den and nest--everything we comfortably identified ourselves with that made us feel whole and complete, made us feel like "somebody"...to leave that...and take our towel and bowl, and wash some of the most vile feet in society. He did, can we?
That's the price to follow Jesus, and that's the action response He waits for us to take. Jesus is going. Twelve men took that challenge many years ago, and thousands have followed since. Are we up to it? Am I up to it?
Lord Jesus, 19 years ago I said "yes" to my pastor, and to You, leaving my 11 year career of what I thought was my lot in life.
It's been nothing short of crazy, uncertain, uncomfortable, and outright scary sometimes. But following You, wherever You led me, has been the most rewarding thing of my life. Thank You for not leaving me behind, though You'd say it was my choice.
I look forward to pushing knowingly into the unknown with You. Where You go, I'll go, where You stay I'll stay, when You move I'll move, I WILL follow You, yeah! (Sorry, I'm no Chris Tomlin. 🎶 😂) Amen!!
