But FIRST…

We all have a choice to make in this life, “Which path will I take? Growing up, I heard the phrase, we can do this the easy way or the hard way…you choose.” Usually, that was the moment I needed to decide whether I was going to get my attitude in check or suffer the consequences. Following Jesus is the opposite though, the “easy” way may be more of the path that the world has shaped your human desires to want to go down because there won’t really be any judgments coming your way from going with the status quo. Whereas the “hard” way would bring some troubles along the path, but Jesus is your guide and already knows what’s up ahead and has won over the worst of them all, death. The destination of the “easy” way ends up being one of eternal suffering, whereas, the “hard” way leads you to your home in Heaven with Christ with no pain, sorrow or suffering whatsoever. Ultimately, it’s up to you, but let me share more about why I will choose the path to the Cross every time!

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭57‬-‭62‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The message on Palm Sunday of 2023 was on the above passage teaching about staying committed when we start to feel what it means to fully FOLLOW Jesus. When we realize there truly is a COST to following our Savior, it can be tempting to turn back to our old ways or go a different direction altogether because we prefer our comfort over the commitment that we made when we first said “YES” to believing and following Jesus. I, myself, did not completely realize what that meant, especially not at 8 years old! Over time, I have learned that God will call you out of your comfort zone and ask for you to sacrifice for the greater good. God is not out to get you or make you miserable. God challenges us so we can grow. We must lay down what we think is best and embrace God’s best, in the face of uncertainty and all!

The description of the cost of following Jesus that was given that morning was: a radical, challenging, and ALL-IN commitment.

The message went on to discuss the three different men’s responses to following Jesus. The first, brought up following Jesus “wherever” he went. Jesus warned him that what he was saying was that he is prepared to be uncomfortable. Jesus was asking him in a way, “where is your security?”
The next man, when Jesus asked him to become his follower, asked Jesus if he could go and bury his dead father and THEN follow him. Even though, this man was wanting to press pause on following Jesus for what he believed was a good reason, Jesus made it clear that he did not call anyone to him so that they can go back to take care of loose ends.
The third man said that he would follow Jesus AFTER he could say farewell to his family. Once again, Jesus did not approve of him looking to the past.

The main point here is that when Jesus asks you to follow him, he isn’t asking for that to be on YOUR timeline but to begin that journey RIGHT THEN. As humans, we tend to take shortcuts or want to know all of our options before saying a firm “Yes.” Jesus asks us to TRUST him and be ALL-IN from the start. Will there be twists, turns, and unexpected times when you feel like you are upside down? Absolutely, but the good news is, when you accept the call to become a Disciple/Follower of Jesus, he is RIGHT THERE with you every step of the way! Let him take the lead and follow in his footsteps so you don’t stumble and fall.

This imagery reminded me of how I have to handle walking in nature or areas I am unfamiliar with. As a person with low vision, I let others take the lead when I am in new territory because I have to trust that they will take the safer path than where my feet may fall if I were in front. I went on one legitimate hike in my life, and it was SO stressful because I had to depend on my husband in front of me to make sure I didn’t trip or take a step where I shouldn’t. I trusted him but there were moments that I was so frustrated I couldn’t do it all on my own that I would still make mistakes. He would turn around when I would tell him I needed some extra help and help me. Obviously, we both made it through the hike since it was almost a year ago from my actually being able to type out this blog (September 2023). I believe this is a good example of what following Jesus might be like sometimes. Exciting at first, challenging along the way, determined to keep pushing through, becoming frustrated that you need help, but calling for help from the One who is more than glad to provide, and getting through it all because he is there with you for ALL Eternity, meaning when it is your time to finish your hike here on Earth, you will arrive safely into Heaven where there is no more hurt or fear, only peace and wholeness.

I was inspired to share some of the photos from that hike from my first ever camping trip. Notice I am excited in the first picture, there are some beautiful sights along the way, but by the end, I was not thrilled.
Thankfully, Jesus loves us enough that in those moments he is compassionate and doesn’t want us to sit in that disappointment long.
I was still able to enjoy the rest of my day, but I just had to be a little grumpy first. Later on, I went on a walking trail on the campground and was able to enjoy views of the lake and nature surrounding that area.

The question that we were asked to pray about toward the end of the service was, “What is your ‘But first?'”

As I prayed about this, I felt God reveal to me that I needed to give up my tendencies to want to be in CONTROL. The next day, I was speaking with a friend, while discussing the message from the day before, the following came out of it:

“Truly learning to trust God has been a battle. But, I’m finally surrendering to him and it feels SO GOOD! The message on Sunday was on what we put before following Jesus, and a part of mine was my control. I’ve been over here like, ‘well let me just adjust this ONE thing JUST RIGHT on the gameboard of my life and then I can trust you.’ I believe that’s when Jesus literally flips the table, toppling my game board over. The pieces are scattered and then he tells me, ‘Walk away from that game plan and follow me to a life beyond your wildest dreams!’ I need to let go of control, stress, anxiety, pride, doubt, and anger. Instead, I need to embrace the unknown because I know who IS in control and I need to accept wise advice coming from a loving place and trust God’s timing and ability to use people who love me to fill me with life and purpose.”

During this time period, I had people who truly love me trying to guide me to a place of less stress and anxiety, and I was being my stubborn self, taking the advice as attacks rather than words spoken out of love from personal experience.

Committing to TRULY following Jesus, is a BIG DEAL and definitely not a decision to take half-halfheartedly. Once you have DECIDED, there is NO turning back because once you see the beauty and majesty of his love for you, you won’t want to go anywhere without him ever again!

The songs below make me smile as they sing about this lesson in such an incredible way. One is more traditional and the other is from earlier this year. Enjoy!