Are You Willing to go Wherever?

Bird on Fence

At the end of the 9th chapter of Luke there is a short bit of dialog between Jesus and his followers.

“And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” 60 But he said, “Permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (NASB)

One of the men tells Jesus that he will follow Him wherever He goes. Jesus then gives the man  a picture of what that will be like. He’s saying to the man, “are you sure you know what you are agreeing to?” After Jesus tells the man the hardships he may face in choosing to follow, we have no idea what the man finally chooses. Did he decide that the road would be too difficult? Or did he say, “Yes, Lord, I am prepared to face whatever lies ahead?” We don’t know.

The next thing Jesus does is say to another man, “Follow Me.” The response of the next two men is the same.  “Yes, Lord, I will follow you…BUT…

Have you told Jesus that you will follow him wherever He goes? Have you considered the cost and determined to go anyway, or are you like the other two men in this passage who have good intentions but have decided their own agenda is more important?

Jesus was very clear when he explained that the road would not be easy. Our decision is this – do we take the more challenging road with Jesus OR do we take the easier one without Him. Which will you choose?