The Call.
57 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.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go andproclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 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
What does it take to lead a life truly surrendered to Christ?! I think it's easy for us in many ways to picture only the pretty things about living a life of faith when we first start out our journeys with Christ. Maybe rock bottom is what had us surrendering our everything to God in the first place, and we see our faith as a means of finding happiness once again. Or maybe we grew up learning about our God and His mighty power and the way He can work miracles like walking on water. I think it's fairly true that for each of us, diving deeper into our faith wasn't about seeking more struggles in our lives, but seeking the joy that comes with knowing the love of an all powerful God. And for the most part building a relationship with Christ is joyous, exciting, and certainly life changing. But the truth is, to truly live a life of faith, you have to know it's not always going to be a piece of cake.
What happens when our faith asks us to do something despite the fact that it may leave pieces of our life broken and hurting? Each of us has so many pressures, and people, and commitments in our lives. There are expectations put on us by everyone and everything. How can I fit in as the daughter, friend, sister, teacher, minister, cousin, customer, human and maintain my life as daughter of God?! What if following God leaves me compromising one of those roles? I feel a constant pressure to do and be exactly who everyone expects me to be. I don't want to be the person to let anyone down! And sometimes that haunts me! The world and people have a certain type of checklist of the things you should do, the order life goals should be accomplished, and the means by which you should accomplish them. Any time you stray from this checklist, you risk being looked at like you're crazy or wrong or a failure. If we aren't the perfect friend the world portrays or we don't live up to the example of a perfect son or daughter, we seem to become devalued. And sometimes these choices to choose God over the people or things in our life can leave us hurting. I've found in my own life, that when you follow His call you end up being the best version of a friend, sister or brother, daughter or son, lover and human you can be! And the truth is, ultimately I think as Christians we are all called to act out of love and respect for one another, but also, each of us is called to answer to only one true calling in our lives, and that's the call of God.
Yes, sometimes I think that means we will let the people in our lives down. And yes, sometimes we will have hurt. But following Christ isn't always about finding only the pretty, it's about finding the real. It's about knowing the truth. And it's about surrendering everything we are to His purpose. It's about giving up what is comfortable and familiar to walk a life with Him.
What I've come to know is that the people worth keeping in your life will love you even as you make this journey. They are the ones who understand that while you continue to be the best version of yourself for them and for the others in your life, ultimately God has the final say. If they truly love you, they will support you as you follow that final say from God. And I think the same is true for each of us. We have to be willing to, in a way, let go of our expectations of others and support them on their journeys to live up to the expectations of God! That doesn't mean necessarily to let go of every expectation you've ever had but I think it means seeing, in a new light, why people in our lives make the decisions they do!
You want to follow Christ? You truly want to be a disciple? You have to leave behind the world. You are going to have to leave behind the expectations that everyone else has for you! And you are going to have to start living out the expectations God has for you. Trust me, it's not always going to be easy, but Christ isn't calling us to a life that's easy. He's calling us to a life that is miraculous, and crazy, and challenging, and beautiful. His calling is to use all that we are, our struggles, our joys, our triumphs and defeats to bring souls and each other closer to the truth and closer to Him. That is what being a disciple means. So let go of those people and things of the world that are keeping you down and seek out the life He is asking you to live regardless of what that means leaving behind. Regardless of what expectations that calls you to break.
What does it take to lead a life truly surrendered to Christ?! I think it's easy for us in many ways to picture only the pretty things about living a life of faith when we first start out our journeys with Christ. Maybe rock bottom is what had us surrendering our everything to God in the first place, and we see our faith as a means of finding happiness once again. Or maybe we grew up learning about our God and His mighty power and the way He can work miracles like walking on water. I think it's fairly true that for each of us, diving deeper into our faith wasn't about seeking more struggles in our lives, but seeking the joy that comes with knowing the love of an all powerful God. And for the most part building a relationship with Christ is joyous, exciting, and certainly life changing. But the truth is, to truly live a life of faith, you have to know it's not always going to be a piece of cake.
What happens when our faith asks us to do something despite the fact that it may leave pieces of our life broken and hurting? Each of us has so many pressures, and people, and commitments in our lives. There are expectations put on us by everyone and everything. How can I fit in as the daughter, friend, sister, teacher, minister, cousin, customer, human and maintain my life as daughter of God?! What if following God leaves me compromising one of those roles? I feel a constant pressure to do and be exactly who everyone expects me to be. I don't want to be the person to let anyone down! And sometimes that haunts me! The world and people have a certain type of checklist of the things you should do, the order life goals should be accomplished, and the means by which you should accomplish them. Any time you stray from this checklist, you risk being looked at like you're crazy or wrong or a failure. If we aren't the perfect friend the world portrays or we don't live up to the example of a perfect son or daughter, we seem to become devalued. And sometimes these choices to choose God over the people or things in our life can leave us hurting. I've found in my own life, that when you follow His call you end up being the best version of a friend, sister or brother, daughter or son, lover and human you can be! And the truth is, ultimately I think as Christians we are all called to act out of love and respect for one another, but also, each of us is called to answer to only one true calling in our lives, and that's the call of God.
Yes, sometimes I think that means we will let the people in our lives down. And yes, sometimes we will have hurt. But following Christ isn't always about finding only the pretty, it's about finding the real. It's about knowing the truth. And it's about surrendering everything we are to His purpose. It's about giving up what is comfortable and familiar to walk a life with Him.
What I've come to know is that the people worth keeping in your life will love you even as you make this journey. They are the ones who understand that while you continue to be the best version of yourself for them and for the others in your life, ultimately God has the final say. If they truly love you, they will support you as you follow that final say from God. And I think the same is true for each of us. We have to be willing to, in a way, let go of our expectations of others and support them on their journeys to live up to the expectations of God! That doesn't mean necessarily to let go of every expectation you've ever had but I think it means seeing, in a new light, why people in our lives make the decisions they do!
You want to follow Christ? You truly want to be a disciple? You have to leave behind the world. You are going to have to leave behind the expectations that everyone else has for you! And you are going to have to start living out the expectations God has for you. Trust me, it's not always going to be easy, but Christ isn't calling us to a life that's easy. He's calling us to a life that is miraculous, and crazy, and challenging, and beautiful. His calling is to use all that we are, our struggles, our joys, our triumphs and defeats to bring souls and each other closer to the truth and closer to Him. That is what being a disciple means. So let go of those people and things of the world that are keeping you down and seek out the life He is asking you to live regardless of what that means leaving behind. Regardless of what expectations that calls you to break.
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