These Things

When Jesus noticed how large the crowd was growing, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go!" - Matthew 8:18-20

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Jesus’ reply seems heartless. The scholar pledges to follow Jesus, regardless of where the journey takes them. Most people think that what Jesus said was, in essence, “Plan to be homeless. Are you willing to do that?”

Let’s say that I said, ‘let’s play Follow the Leader’. Would you?

Let’s say you followed me downstairs, out the door and walked along Peak Blvd til we got to York Street. Would you follow me that far?

What if I led you north up York Street, and headed to the Kum n Go, then turned left and went all the way down to the place where they sell fireworks by the big red barn every June and July. Would you follow me that far?

What if I led you back south to Peak Blvd, then turned right, walking past Hilldale Elementary to 64 Hwy, then north into town? Would you still follow me?

Okay, now think back to when I asked you to follow me. Why did you choose to do so? I can think of a couple of reasons: 1) Because you wanted to see where we were going; 2) Because you had nothing better to do; and 3) Because you trusted me.

The Scholar in this story said he would follow Jesus wherever he went.

Okay, now let’s take this ‘Follow the Leader’ game a little bigger:

Let’s say that I said, “Rise up, leave everything but your testimony behind, and follow me.” Would you?

What if I led you out onto 69 Hwy, south to Interstate 40? What if we would sleep under the bridges and eat from the generosity of others? What if we were going to help homeless people and smelly people and people with bad attitudes?

Would you still follow me?

When the Scholar said he’d follow Jesus wherever He went, I don’t think he knew exactly what he was saying, nor committing himself to.

You can read the stories of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; envision the miracles and the stories and the scenes of the life of Jesus, and you can be certain that His life was far from boring.

You can also be certain that those who stayed on as faithful followers were well rewarded.

What Jesus was saying when he responded to the religious teacher’s vow was this: “I consider myself as homeless in this lifetime BECAUSE my home is with my Father in Heaven. This isn’t a mission trip that lasts for a couple of weeks, or an 8-to-5 job where I go home at night, and will someday retire and buy an RV to tour the countryside, living the good life, stopping in Vegas and Branson like other retired old people do. My reward is not going to happen on this Earth. And if you’re going to follow me wherever I go, then you have to realize that your ultimate Reward is not going to happen on this Earth.”

There’s a story in Luke 18:18-23, of a guy known as the Rich Young Ruler. He asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit the Kingdom of God, to which Jesus replied, “keep all the commandments.” The Rich Young Ruler was happy and proud to report, “I have kept all of these since my youth.”

Jesus said to him, “There’s one thing you must do: sell all you possess and give it to the poor. Then you will have TREASURE IN HEAVEN. Then come, follow me.”

And the Rich Young Ruler couldn’t do it.

Now, I’m not saying that you have to sell everything and give it to the poor. I mean, if God says do it, then that’s between you and Him.

But I am saying that being a Follower of Jesus, a Believer in God, you have to have the mindset that the Big Picture is bigger than YOUR life and YOUR stuff and YOUR future here on Planet Earth. Jesus said not to worry about what you eat or drink because God will take care of His own. Instead, Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.”

Okay, that’s what all good Christians are supposed to do, ain’t it? But how seriously are we supposed to be in our seeking, our following? Two days a week with occasional Teen Camps and Xtreme Conferences and mission projects every year? Do we know what we’re really saying when we say, “I’ll follow Jesus wherever He leads me”?

Jesus followed that up with, “And all of these things will be added unto you.”

It’s the ‘These Things’ part that gets us. ‘These things’ means what we need to live, our provisions while we are upright and breathing. Three hots and a cot. What we wear and what we’ve got.

Education, Graduation, Vocation, Compensation, Identification, Medication, Communication, Marital Unification, Consummation, Procreation, Affirmation, Preservation, Sequestration (look it up) and then finally, Permanent Vacation.

If we choose to follow Christ, seeking His Kingdom first, THEN ALL of our needs will be met and our earthly lives will be blessed.

The priority is to follow Christ first.

And this is why Jesus said 'these things'; he later said, in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”

Going back to the first story of the Religious Teacher: He said he’d follow Jesus anywhere. Do you think he really knew what he was saying?

When we say, ‘I choose to Follow Christ wherever He leads me’, we have to be willing to trust Him with everything.

First, seek His Kingdom. His Righteousness.

Then - as in ‘after seeking Him First’ - will He add ‘these things’ to you.