One thing remains true about the story of Jonah...! He was running, running, faster and faster away from ....From what was he running? Seriously, I'm sure that there are many answers here friends. Why do we run? Consider the text,
Oh wow!! Sorry my fellow readers and writers out there but I'm having a rough week and therefore the difficult texts of the Bible somehow make me feel better. Ha! Do you know what is difficult about following Christ? Yes, it's the cost of giving things up for Him. Most certainly, yes, it's also the fact that we are no longer in control of our lives!! However, the most difficult part of following our Lord is not those concepts for me. Truly, the most difficult move I make on the chessboard of life is the move to follow Him first without question or closure in other areas!! Allow me to give you an illustration? When I went to Haiti for the first time as a young missions student, I was very apprehensive about the unknown dangers. The reality is simple, I wanted to know what to expect and I wanted to be free from surprises! In fact, even if someone had told me that something bad was going to happen, I simply wanted to know, to be prepared. Don't misunderstand me on this point because simply knowing the dangerous outcomes or plans doesn't mean that "things" wouldn't be difficult, only that they would be known!! So, Christ says, "Follow me!" In response, we, the disciples, say, "First let me..." and all of you may insert the appropriate word. Perhaps you need the research the area you are going with Christ, or perhaps you simply must put your make up on and brush that hair!! Maybe in fact it's simply that you need to pack!! Hee...Hee!! Maybe for you and I it's that you would like the itinerary mapped out and to ask a few clarifying questions! Ohhhh my! We just love to have our questions answered don't we?? Such comfort in knowing what's going to happen! However, the Lord gives a different kind of comfort and a different kind of peace and most certainly a different kind of love!! Sure, Jonah was comfortable, but he was not truly wrapped up in the comfort of His Heavenly Father was he? No, he was not completely in the Lord's arms while some of him was still questioning...!!! The Lord doesn't promise us closure on anything, but that He is alive and that He is risen just like He said! The Lord doesn't promise us worldly comfort, or a place to rest our head, but He does promise us that He Himself is all the comfort in the world.
Principle, when you seek to find a place to rest your questions or your head, you will find yourself without the Lord, burying the dead.
However, when you follow God and jump first for His best, In Him your questions will be put to rest....
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”Oh wow!! Sorry my fellow readers and writers out there but I'm having a rough week and therefore the difficult texts of the Bible somehow make me feel better. Ha! Do you know what is difficult about following Christ? Yes, it's the cost of giving things up for Him. Most certainly, yes, it's also the fact that we are no longer in control of our lives!! However, the most difficult part of following our Lord is not those concepts for me. Truly, the most difficult move I make on the chessboard of life is the move to follow Him first without question or closure in other areas!! Allow me to give you an illustration? When I went to Haiti for the first time as a young missions student, I was very apprehensive about the unknown dangers. The reality is simple, I wanted to know what to expect and I wanted to be free from surprises! In fact, even if someone had told me that something bad was going to happen, I simply wanted to know, to be prepared. Don't misunderstand me on this point because simply knowing the dangerous outcomes or plans doesn't mean that "things" wouldn't be difficult, only that they would be known!! So, Christ says, "Follow me!" In response, we, the disciples, say, "First let me..." and all of you may insert the appropriate word. Perhaps you need the research the area you are going with Christ, or perhaps you simply must put your make up on and brush that hair!! Maybe in fact it's simply that you need to pack!! Hee...Hee!! Maybe for you and I it's that you would like the itinerary mapped out and to ask a few clarifying questions! Ohhhh my! We just love to have our questions answered don't we?? Such comfort in knowing what's going to happen! However, the Lord gives a different kind of comfort and a different kind of peace and most certainly a different kind of love!! Sure, Jonah was comfortable, but he was not truly wrapped up in the comfort of His Heavenly Father was he? No, he was not completely in the Lord's arms while some of him was still questioning...!!! The Lord doesn't promise us closure on anything, but that He is alive and that He is risen just like He said! The Lord doesn't promise us worldly comfort, or a place to rest our head, but He does promise us that He Himself is all the comfort in the world.
Principle, when you seek to find a place to rest your questions or your head, you will find yourself without the Lord, burying the dead.
However, when you follow God and jump first for His best, In Him your questions will be put to rest....
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