Jesus that's a hard call!
PLAYING CHURCH OR FOLLOWING JESUS?
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:26–28)
Following Jesus means a shift in priorities. He becomes first so that when it comes down to either-or rather than both-and, we choose Jesus. And making that choice beautifies us in God’s eyes. The call to follow Jesus is radical, and it might very well lead us down lonely paths.
Are we willing to follow his call even if it means loss and the loneliness that springs from it? If we don’t consider all this beforehand, we are likely to turn back when the going gets rough. That’s why Jesus warned would-be followers to count the cost before starting out (Luke 14:25–33).
Following will most surely cost us our right to hang on to our old identity. That’s the cost we have to count, because when that old identity falls away, we are likely to crash down if we aren’t prepared for the significance of the loss and how bewildering the way forward can seem at times.
Although Abraham had been told on more than one occasion the great blessings he’d receive for following God, going forward required the obedience of faith: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8).
We, too, have God’s promises, but, like Abraham, we don’t always know where following the Lord is going to take us. Will we trust him? Are we willing to set out, believing that where he is leading us will prove to be better than what we’ve left—even when we can’t possibly see how?
It’s the only way to get through the loneliness of an identity crisis, of losing everything that up until now has defined who we are. When we are feeling our way alone in the dark, we remember the promises. What we gain by following Christ is so much richer and longer lasting than anything we lose.
Through the loneliness that comes from heeding this call, the Lord redefines us and gives us a whole new identity. As we follow, clinging to him as we go forward, we find that our real home and family are with him in the fellowship of his people. This isn’t some nice-sounding spiritual concept—it’s the real thing. Our affections are changed—part of our new identity—to make our spiritual home a reality in our hearts and lives. And this isn’t just for later, in heaven. Jesus says it’s also “in this time.”
Is your loneliness due to an identity crisis? If so, you won’t regain that old identity by going back home. Those who try usually find that it just doesn’t work. You won’t find it in the new place either. That’s because God doesn’t want you to. He wants you to know that you’re already home. In Christ, you have your true identity, “for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29–30).
