A CALL TO COMMITMENT
Many health and fitness centers expect a flood of people to join every
January who will come only a few times. They don’t mind if people pay the fee and
never return. But fitness trainer Jesse Jones takes the opposite approach. If
you sign up and don’t show up, he will terminate your membership. Jones says,
“Save your money. Come see me in a few months when you’re serious. My passion
is not for another three-month payment . . . we’re making people accountable to
reach their goals.”
In Luke 9:57-62, we encounter three people who told Jesus they wanted to
follow Him, and all received what seem to be harsh replies from the Lord: “The
Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (v.58). “Let the dead bury their own
dead” (v.60). “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is
fit for the kingdom of God” (v.62). For each person, Jesus stated the sacrifice
and commitment required to become His disciple.
A man I admire as a dedicated and sensitive follower of Christ says that
Christians need to be “ready for radical commitment and change.” The Lord calls
us not only to leave the status quo, but also to take that calling seriously by
following Him.
Following God demands our all. (RBC)
