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)
