And there went great multitudes with Him: and He turned and said to them…Luke 14:25-35

   I was in the crowd that was following Jesus. I looked at His footprints ahead of us in the dusty road; how straight and even a path they made.
    Some of us followed Him because He was popular at the time, I suppose. Others maybe wanted to see Him do some great miracle. Whatever the reasons for being there, many were trailing behind him that day.
    Then all of a sudden, He stopped and turned to face us. Then He said in essence;
    “If anyone comes to Me, you can’t love anything or anyone more than Me; Father, mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even your own life. If you do, then you cannot be My disciple.
    “Whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.”
    Then He spoke about counting the cost. He made a comparison about going to war and calculating to see if you have enough resources to win – or building, would there be enough to finish?
    Warfare and building.
    A sword and a trowel.
    It wasn’t gong to be easy to follow God and work for His kingdom.
    Were we able?
    Did we want to?
    Standing on that road, I wondered what were the others thinking?
    He was challenging us.
    Then He said,
    “No one can be My disciple unless you give up all your own possessions.”
    Give up? So many were following Him because they thought they were going to get something, and now all He’s talking about is warfare and hardship.
    “Salt is good,” He continued, “but if it loses its flavor how can it be restored? It is worthless. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.”
    By then I had gathered that He was not interested in any lukewarm commitments.
    Zeal was the salt that was going to make this journey palatable.
    He looked at us a moment more with earnest intensity. Then He turned and continued walking.
    I wasn’t aware of what anyone else was doing. I didn’t care if the others were taken back by His boldness. Maybe He wasn’t as popular as He was a few moments ago.
    There were no miracles then.
    They weren’t going to be entertained.
    I only knew that He had turned and He was leaving. And as I watched Him go, I couldn’t let the distance between us widen.
    Friends, family and things I had left behind. The cross was on my back because I had given Him my life. The sword and the trowel occupied my hands. I really had no choice, you see; for I was in love, and love has to follow. There would be only one set of footprints on the road ahead – mine in His.
   

copyright 2005 by H.D. Shively