Is following Jesus worth the effort?

WORTH THE EFFORT

Lk. 14:25-33.

Jesus had reached the zenith of His popularity.  Wherever He went crowds gathered around Him.  They came for a variety of reasons.  Some were drawn by curiosity.  They had heard of the wonders He had done and they wanted to see Him for themselves.  Others came because they or their loved ones were sick and they were aware that He could help them.  Some were drawn by patriotic zeal.  They hoped to use Jesus as the spark to ignite a revolt against Rome.  And some, although they would be in the minority, wanted to be His followers.

Looking around at these would-be disciples, Jesus said, "If any man comes to Me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be My disciple."  The suggestion that we should hate our loved ones is unthinkable.  Since Jesus tells us we are to love our neighbour He certainly does not mean that we should reject our families, but that we should love Him even more than we love them.

Jesus knew that following Him would not be easy.  To those who were considering becoming His disciples He said, "You must give up all your possessions."  By "possessions" in this context, surely Jesus means an attachment to our loved ones which is greater than our attachment to Him.  We must have that mind set by which we love Jesus above any other person or thing. 

I remember once, on a mission, being told by a lady that she had no time to get to Mass on Sunday.  She was married to a non-Catholic.  She worked Monday to Friday and she spent Saturday shopping, cleaning her house, and looking after her sick mother.  Sunday was the day she gave to her husband.  How could she find time to go to Church?  I told her that all God asks is to give Him one hour and her husband 23 hours.  I said, "I don't think God is being unreasonable in demanding that one hour."  But she said, "Aren't I obeying the commandment to love my husband?"  I told her, "You are making the first commandment in your life the love of your husband and not the love of God."  Of course, she must love her husband but, as Jesus said, God must come first.

To those who want to follow Jesus He is saying, "If you really love Me and want to follow Me you must count the cost."  It means forward planning and careful preparation.  He gives two examples, a man building a tower and a king going into battle.  How stupid it would be to start building a tower without calculating the cost and making sure that you had the resources to complete it.  Again, how stupid a king would be if he entered a battle with far fewer soldiers than his opponent.  A wise king would make sure he had every chance of winning.  If Jesus was talking to us today, He might talk about a man setting out on a long car journey.  He would make sure that the car was roadworthy, that he had enough petrol, and that he carefully consulted his map to plan the route.

Preparing to follow Jesus is rather like preparing for marriage.  Enthusiasm and romantic ideals are not enough.  Anyone thinking of getting married should take a good look at their intended partner and carefully consider what is involved in the commitment they are about to make.  Only then will they be reasonably certain of success.  Anyone thinking of following Jesus must be aware of what will be expected of them.  There are many people who have attended evangelical rallies and found themselves swept along on a wave of emotional fervour.  Only to find in a very short while that that spark of enthusiasm has fizzled out.  A lifelong commitment to Jesus needs a much more solid foundation.

Lord Jesus, following You is the best security we have for our eternal future.  You will look after us and secure a place for us in heaven.  May we follow You wholeheartedly.

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