Readings for the day: Luke 14-15
Jesus loves the least and the lost. It’s why he heals on the Sabbath. Tells stories of feasts where the poor, the blind, the crippled and the lame become guests of honor. It’s the king who is rejected by his friends so sends his servants out to the highways and byways to bring in those who are the least worthy of his attention. It’s a lost sheep that is found. A lost coin that is rediscovered. And two lost sons who are restored. These are the ways of the Kingdom of God and followers of Jesus will seek to walk in these ways themselves.
Do you love the least and the lost? Or do you instead seek a place of honor and glory for yourself? Are you like the man who went to the banquet and took the seat of highest honor for himself? Are you like the invited guests who made all kinds of excuses as to why they couldn’t come or had to delay their attendance at the great wedding feast? Are there things in your life that you love more than Jesus? Including your own family? If so, beware! You are like salt that has lost it’s saltiness.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate…even his own life cannot be my disciple.”
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
These are hard sayings to be sure. They do not make any sense from a human perspective. We cannot imagine why the call to follow Jesus would be so costly. And yet, Jesus clearly leaves us no wiggle room. Why? Is it because Jesus is cruel? Is it because Jesus is capricious? Uncaring? Is it because Jesus is a tyrant? The answer is a clear “NO” to all of these things. It is because Jesus is 110% committed to His mission to reach the least and the lost of our world. Those who live at the bottom of society. Those who struggle and suffer and for whom life is full of pain and heartbreak. God loves them with an everlasting love and His great desire is to see them lifted up. See them blessed. See them healed and made whole.
He has one plan to accomplish this great end. His church. His people. Those who are called by His name and set apart for His purposes. Why must we relinquish all in order to follow Jesus? It is so He can use us as He sees fit. Send us where He needs us. Take our resources and deploy them for His purposes in the world. Our response must be open hands and open hearts. A humble willingness to let God use us as He sees fit. Only then will we find true fulfillment and true joy. Only then will we experience the peace that passes all understanding. Only then will we know the unconditional love and grace of God in our lives.