seeing clearly

In Matthew 8 a scribe comes to Jesus and says, “Master I will follow you wherever you go.” Isn’t that the heart of discipleship, being willing to follow Jesus wherever he goes, wherever he leads? I think so. 

Jesus’ response here always kind of troubled me. He says:

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

The scribe says he is willing to follow Jesus anywhere. So Jesus tells him that he doesn’t have a place to live? In your mind, think of the worst that our Lord endured while he was on this earth. The cross…it’s a no-brainer. Our Lord could have said,

Are you sure you want to follow me wherever I go? I am going to be rejected by the very ones that I came to save. I will be mocked by my creation, those who should worship me. I will be taken to the hill called Calvary where I will endure the death of the cross, bearing the sins of the world, and facing the totality of God’s wrath in the place of every sinner. Are you really sure you are willing to follow me anywhere? 

He doesn’t even have to go there; He knows the minds and heart-intents of all men. As such, He knows that the scribe does not really mean that he will follow the Lord anywhere. Our Lord doesn’t have to say: 

If any man will come after let him deny himself and take up his cross daily…

All He says is: 

I don’t have a place to live

I believe that was enough to scare the scribe away…

What would it take to scare you away?

We should all have the attitude of “Lord I will follow you wherever you go!” But what would it take to scare you away from following? What would our Lord have said to you? 

I don’t have a home. 

I don’t have an ipod. 

I don’t have a week-end home on the lake. 

I don’t make six figures. 

Jesus wants us to follow him with no reservations, no strings attached, and nothing held back.