Day 4: Follow Me
Jesus told him "Follow Me and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matthew 8:22).
Our God and Savior, You have told us, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). And time and again, You have told us that this life is temporary— that this world is transient and will eventually pass away (Matthew 24:35, 2 Peter 3:10, 1 John 2:17).
You have shown us the folly and the futility of prioritizing the world, its power, its lusts, its patterns and its treasures, and have urged us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). But You have given us choice, and the decision is ours as to whether we choose You and Your kingdom as the highest priority in our lives.
You have shown us that it is not possible for us to choose both the world and Your kingdom: If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them... (1 John 2:15). You explained this to a teacher of the law and another disciple who expressed a desire to follow You, but with constraints (Matthew 8:19-22).
To the one You explained the practical implications of his expressed desire to “follow You wherever You go” (Matthew 8:19. You showed him that "Wherever You go" could entail transience, uprooting— difficult physical circumstances outside the familiar and the safe that humans and even animals count on (Matthew 8:20).
To the other who desired to wait until such time in the unknown future when his father would eventually die and he could settle affairs of estate and inheritance, You explained the importance of attending to life in the present: “Follow Me and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22.
O Lord, there a million things in this world that would distract us, claim our attention, demand our allegiance, hijack our priorities. But You have told us, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it (Matthew 16:24-25).
You have shown us what the gains are from a total investment in Your kingdom— from a willingness to put You in first place even above the deep and natural affections that You Yourself have given us: Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).
But knowing that our human mind may struggle to understand, You showed us by Your own example what total love and total surrender look like. You willing gave up Your life on a cross, and carried our sins into the deep of a tomb. You ask us to follow You there willingly, with the assurance that the joy of resurrection will come.
Lord as we ponder Your amazing love, help us to persevere past the instant gratification of this world, and deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow You.
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