Issue 252
Based on Luke 9:56-62
There is in each of our lives some unwritten code. This code demonstrates itself in the assumptions you make and the agreement you expect from others when these assumptions are expressed. I will give you some examples in everyday speak: “I know we said we would go to the theatre, but my boss has asked for this by tomorrow”“I can’t be there, I have a paying client”;“we must move because of our children’s education”;“I have to let you go to balance the books”.
Now there are assumptions behind all these behaviours. They are that my boss, income, children’s education, and profit are, de facto, top priorities. They are all statements which presume that the hearer will automatically agree because it’s obvious that these things are true. Of course your work, paying client, child’s education and finance comes first – whoever could challenge that?
But on the village road it does get challenged. The road would have been a minor one through sparsely populated countryside but the challenge is major. The dialogues surround the terms and conditions of following Jesus of Nazareth. Three encounters take place on this journey and the outcome is the same – there is only one place which Jesus is prepared to occupy in your life – that is first. The terms are spelt out in three categories:iIf you follow Me, your material life will be unpredictable and varied andyou may find yourself in unconventional living conditions,secondly, you are commissioned to proclaim the Kingdom of God and thirdly you must not look back.
Jesus knows that you and I have a habit of trying to configure our lives around safety, security and stability – it’s not like that when you follow him. He knows you want to discharge ongoing family duties – but he will not allow you to let them force you to miss the point. Because we have a tendency to ambivalence, hesitation and wavering, he spells out that there is no room for a change of heart on this watch. Now for the really hard part: let’s assume that you want to follow him as he stipulates on the village road – what would that mean? To listen to many sermons you could conclude that it means you must be fully involved in church life – out on many nights and active in several teams. It might mean that you give generously to church projects.
But that would be another assumption and it would be to miss the point. The point, I suggest, is that you invite him to take control of your life and promise to follow him, and then it will be up to him what that means – following means just that. It is not a one-off decision but a way of life and a way of working. When someone says “follow me” you follow them and see where they go.
Sometimes he will lead you to meet your boss’s deadline and sometimes to refuse. Sometimes he will lead you to make a finance-based decision and sometimes he will lead you to ignore finance altogether. Sometimes he will lead you to a poorer education for a richer reason. I don’t know how it will work out in your life – I’m trying to follow him in my own.
One thing is certain. When you go to work this week, go in the attitude of trust in his unpredictability, and in the spirit of proclaiming the Kingdom of God in your working practices. Don’t look back to any previous lifestyle, and you will discover that when Jesus has first place in your life, other things fall into their correct places and you become more fulfilled not less. It’s a global village now.
Luke 9:56-62
56 They went to another village. 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
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Work well
Geoff Shattock
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