The Challenge
God challenges me every day. He calls me to speak to someone or do a task, and what is so often my answer? I’ll do it next time or right after I get this done. If I were a character in the Bible, I’d be one of the guys that told Jesus that I would follow him right after I buried my father or said goodbye to my family.
Jesus’ response seems cruel in the story. He basically tells them to let the dead bury their dead. In other words, it’s now or never.
What’s lacking or is often missed is that Jesus knew their heart (as he knows all of ours). He knew that it wasn’t a one-time thing. There was going to be something else that would come up. Something else more important than following him. Today it was a dead father. Tomorrow it would be a dead mother, the next day a sick animal, the day after that, home repairs.
Second Fiddle
They were telling him that he would always be second fiddle, and you can’t follow Christ that way. Not only is it a waste of your time, but it makes you a horrible witness of Christianity. People see that kind of Christian, one that’s only concerned with themselves, and they want nothing to do with Christ.
How many times have I told God that I’ll get to that right after this email, or I don’t have time right now, but I’ll do what you placed on my heart later, only for it never to happen? There is no room for delay in following Christ. There is no room for hesitation, not just in the call to salvation, but in our daily walk.