By: Carole L. Haines
Jesus once said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20 NIV)
This was in answer to a scribe’s declaration that he would follow Jesus wherever He went. Now that is something else, a Scribe declaring himself as a follower.
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 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.” (Matthew 8:18-20)
Scribes and Pharisees were often some of Jesus’ greatest opponents. Yet here he stands a Scribe as a devoted follower, declaring he will follow Him anywhere.
Jesus has that effect on the people who interact with Him. It was true back then and it is still true today. You either love Him or hate Him. It’s pretty hard to stay neutral when encountering Jesus and all He teaches. He goes against the grain, debunking societal norms. He is often controversial, yet so kind and gentle with those who admit they are sinners in need of a Savior. I certainly am a sinner and desperately need a Savior. He is that for me and so much more, and I find myself asking this question,
“Will I declare this love and actually follow Jesus wherever He goes?” I desire to do that very much. But Jesus tells us to “count the cost,” before making such a declaration. Let’s close with this passage to ponder for ourselves:
25 Now large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (Luke 14:25-33 NASB)
Hate is an awfully strong word, so I looked it up. It means what you’d think but one particular definition stood out to me. Blue Letter Bible says an extension of understanding this word is “to love less.” This helped me see that to follow Jesus wherever He goes does not mean I have to hate anyone. I just have to love them less than Jesus. So, you and I must first sit down and consider whether we are strong enough. We must calculate the cost of that call. We must examine our love for Jesus as compared to everyone else. Do we love Him more than these? That is the cost we must calculate before blundering into the declaration that we will follow Jesus wherever He goes. Have a Blessed Day as you think on these things.
hisshadowings.com 