Second Thoughts about Jesus

Spiritual Resolutions. They should be a priority. Too often times they are not. Check out my good buddy's resolution over at ALREADY AND NOT YET.

I mentioned in my last post that I would report on my spiritual resolutions for the year. These are never simple, and these should not be taken lightheartedly. On Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at our church in Guntersville. I spoke from the passage of Luke 9:57-62. It reads:

“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me. "But the man 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 good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God".

All three of these guys had a reason to postpone their commitment to Jesus. Here are three things I get from this, and three things I resolve for the year:

1. Jesus needs to know that I have what it takes to follow Him.
2. Jesus needs to know that He is my my number one priority.
3. Jesus needs to know that I won't ever look back on my decision to serve Him.

Jesus knew the first guy was reluctant to follow Him. He saw something in this wanna be disciple that said "The life of a Christian may have trails and tribulations, and I can't handle that. As soon as it happens, I'm gonna give up". Jesus needs to know that we won't give up, whether the task at hand is working in a nursery at church, preaching to the shut ins at the nursing home, dealing with benevolent cases, or praying for others.

Jesus knew the second guy wanted to put a bit more emphasis on his family, friends, home...whatever the case may be... above Jesus. I can't imagine making a decision without my family's support, but if my family is going against what Christ wants, I would have to do so. But more importantly, Christ HAS to be a priority in my life. Jesus does not accept second place. Proclaiming the kingdom of God – the good news of Jesus Christ for us today, demands our allegiance above all other commitments in this world. Let me repeat that. Jesus demands our allegiance above all other commitments in this world. Above our family, our jobs, our possessions, our hobbies, our guilty pleasures, and anything else that you can think of!

Finally, no one can plow a straight furrow in the soil by looking back. We can’t whole-heartedly live for Jesus with constant second thoughts and reservations.

Do you ever have buyers remorse? Maybe you’ve bought a new house or a new car, you know, a major purchase, and as soon as you bought the item, you immediately regretted it. Buyer’s remorse can have a powerful impact on you. However, Jesus needs to know that you don’t have second thoughts about your decision to follow Him.

I so desperately want to be a child of God, an obedient loving child of God. I want to live for Christ without reservation, hesitation, vacillation, indecision or fluctuation. I want to live for Jesus with determination, resolution, perseverance and fortitude. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God to guide and a determined fixing of my eyes on Jesus, this is possible.