BaptistWay Bible Series for Dec. 11: Continually make yourself available to God
Posted: 11/29/05
BaptistWay Bible Series for Dec. 11
Continually make yourself available to God
• Luke 9:51-62
By Alexia Riggs
Logsdon Seminary, Abilene
People love a good story. In today’s society, we especially love stories about journeys on the open road. Some stories start with “boldly going where no one has gone before.” Everyone can tell you about their first experience behind the wheel.
Luke 9:51-56 is no different. Jesus is beginning a long journey that will lead him to Jerusalem, where we find him in chapter 19. Jesus began by setting out toward a Samaritan village but found he was not welcome—for no reason other than he was heading to Jerusalem. Jesus started a journey only to find right at the beginning of it he was thwarted.
But before Jesus could respond, James and John were furious. They wanted to call on God to avenge the insult. This is not a great start to a long journey. Does an insult create a need for injury? James and John seem to have thought so.
While those two may have been ready to spar with the locals, Jesus rebuked them and led them to another village, where they were accepted. The example illustrates that Jesus did not come to incite violence. Rather, he came to break the cycle of violence by forgiving and dying.
These verses serve to remind us of two things. First, Jesus desired peace. Second, we should not reject God by allowing him to pass us by. When we hesitate or pass up on a chance to know God, it is no different than rejecting him.
“He who hesitates is lost;” an old proverb with meaning that still resonates today. In restaurants, stores and even in church, we make decisions with hesitation and often change our minds. We find ourselves rejecting things simply out of convenience or because we are not sure if it is what we want. It is too easy to go back on our words and simply put something back we decide we no longer want. The Samaritan village missed out on a chance to be ministered to by Christ simply because he was heading to Jerusalem.
In Luke 9:57-62, we see three other cases of hesitation. While each person was willing to follow Jesus, each had an excuse to not follow right away. The first person was willing to go, but Christ reminded him there were no creature comforts ahead. The second needed to bury his father. The third felt the need to say good-bye to family.
It is too easy to say, “I will follow Jesus, but before I commit my life to that completely, there is just one more thing I still need to do.”
The reasons given by the second and third individuals make sense to most of us. We can understand, for example, before going on a mission trip, wanting to stay for a funeral or wanting to say goodbye to everyone we know. These do not seem to be bad or unreasonable requests.
However, Jesus is making a point that his ministry should precede all desires we may have. Comfort, taking care of one’s responsibilities and seeing to the needs of our families do not take precedence over his ministry. Being a disciple of Christ and following Christ exclusively may require that type of sacrifice. We must be willing to forgo other obligations when God calls us to follow him. The matter is not one of abandoning those relationships and responsibilities. Rather, it is one of submitting them to Jesus, our Lord.
When I was called into ministry, I was in the middle of a master’s degree plan and had no desire to leave the program. I did not want to sacrifice everything I had worked for. Ministry could wait until I had finished my obligation at the university. Within a matter of days, my supposed obligation to the school ended abruptly. I found myself in seminary and studying for the ministry. Moving on from that place in my life, I thought, would be too big a sacrifice. Actually, it turned out to be the best thing I could ever do for God. When I refused to sacrifice to follow Jesus, it was because I was following myself and my own needs first.
Acts of following Jesus do not have to be huge. We may find ourselves striking up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store or an act of ministry to someone at a homeless shelter. Churches, prisons, schools and even (dare we say it) next-door neighbors all could benefit from sharing Christ.
The work of God isn’t always going on a mission trip or a ministry project. Sometimes, the sacrifice God would have us make is a few hours of our day to meet the needs of those around us, including our families. My prayer is that we will follow Jesus (not our own desires) and not hesitate when the next chance to sacrifice comes our way.
Discussion questions
• When was the last time you allowed someone to minister to you?
• Can you recall a time when you could have shared the gospel with someone? If faced with the same situation again, would you change what you chose to do?