Following Jesus – Part 3

Before you read this post, be sure to check out Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. Then come back and continue in the series, as I peel back the onion on what the true cost of following Jesus is.

Following Jesus seems simple. We say a prayer at church and invite Him to be Lord of our life, and we make an outward declaration of faith. Now we are following, right? Not exactly…

To truly follow after Jesus, is much deeper. It’s about a relationship with Him. To be in communion daily. To look to the Holy Spirit for guidance in our daily lives and surrender/obey to His plan. And whether you knew it or not, there is a cost associated with following Him.

In Luke 14:26-35, Jesus speaks directly about the cost of following Him.

The very first thing He addresses is your relationship with loved ones and yourself. He actually uses the word hate. There have been many debates about the use of that word, so I want to sidebar for a moment and dig in to learn what we can about it.

• Let’s remember first that the Bible was translated from the Hebrew (old testament) and Greek (new testament) languages into the English version we read today.
• We should also remember that there are multiple Hebrew and Greek words that can translate into our one English word, such is the case here – the Greek language has more than one word for hate.

The word used in Luke 14:26 is the Greek word miséō meaning in short, to love someone or something less than someone or something else.

Ultimately, Jesus is saying you must love me more than anyone or anything, including your closest loved ones and your own life.

In that same scripture in Luke, Jesus goes on to say that if a man comes to Him and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brother, sisters, and his own life then he cannot be His disciple.

Sidebar again on that word cannot. It is derived from the greek word dunimus or dynomite and carries a meaning of ‘having no power’. Which means, Jesus is saying that man has no power or ability to be His disciple. Do you wonder why?

I believe we can find the answer to that in Matthew 6:24.

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon*.” KJV

I recall a lesson I taught to my Sunday school students a few years ago, to help their young minds try to comprehend how they can love Jesus first and most.

In Luke 10, Jesus is speaking to an expert of the law who asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus simply responds with a couple of questions of His own; 1. what is written in the law and 2. how do read it? The lawyer says says ‘Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Jesus confirmed ‘You have answered correctly, do this and you will live.’

As I prepared for that lesson, one little word stuck out to me. All. The Webster dictionary defines all as ‘the whole amount, quantity, or extent of’; ‘as much as possible’; ‘every member or individual component of.’

It occurred to me, if I am to love the Lord my God with ALL of myself – what will I have left to love my neighbor as myself? I prayed for clarity, understanding. The Lord spoke.

When I choose to follow Jesus, choose to love Him first, choose to make Him most important, choose to love Him with everything I have – He loves in and through me. Pouring the exact measure back through me to love others with, as the gatekeeper if you will, of all that He has entrusted to me on Earth.

Love for my husband, parents, siblings, children, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends – comes from the Lord after I have given Him my all FIRST.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we are agreeing to relinquish our plans, desires, and life to Him to work in and through us as He needs to. Our life is no longer our own, but we become a vessel of His love.

A vessel to return His love to the world through our actions and words.

Whats even more astounding is He loves us enough to allow us to say no.

He loves us enough to give us free-will everyday, to choose something different.

A few things I know:

• The cost of following Jesus is high – it requires me giving Him everything I have, trusting Him with it and following Him.
• The reward is so much greater than any cost I could ever pay.

Lord, thank you for loving us so much that you give us a choice. Help us choose well. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Join me next time to dive into the rewards of following Jesus!

God bless you!

Joanie

*mammon in the Bible is money