I am living comfortably. I've become "okay" with living contrary to what I know God has willed for me. It leaves me in a very dangerous place. Because I'm not constantly moving in His direction, I make myself open and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy and the ungodly passions and lusts of this world. How foolish can I be?
I recently had an encounter with an issue in my life that was only resulting in damage. The answer to the question 'how will this end?' was God giving me the question of' what does it mean to follow Me?' Ha! God answered me with a question, so that means I need to do some work. In thinking about that question 'what does it mean to follow Jesus?' I was brought to the passage found in Matthew, Mark and Luke where Jesus gives the "3 Simple Ways to Follow Jesus and Have a Happy Life!" You know the verse: "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"(Luke 9:23) Anyone could tell you that those things are not simple, nor do they lead to what the world would call a happy life. This is the verse in which I was led to in response to God's response to my question. Well, how exactly does that play out in life?
Before delving into what Jesus means here, I need to first become "not okay" with living contrary to what I know He has willed for me. This means getting uncomfortable. This first action (yes, action) may very well be the most excruciatingly painful action of life. Why? No one likes to be uncomfortable. And the thought of moving from comfortableness to uncomfortableness is completely the opposite mindset that we grow up with. So much of the world operates with the intentions of becoming more and more comfortable, and we are consciously and subconsciously affected by it. To take steps away from living in this "Christian comfort zone," one must immerse himself in Jesus. What does that mean? It means giving Jesus all the time you have. Instead of robbing intimate time with Him in order to do what we selfishly desire, we need to make intimate times with Him. This is a priority. Contrary to letting your friends, family, the world, and maybe even your church influence you, let your Maker influence you. Let God determine your path, your actions, and your thoughts. In allowing this, you will be "not okay" with living contrary to what you know He has willed for you. Being "not okay" in what used to be "okay" results in what used to be comfortable to what's now uncomfortable. Long story short, your new "comfortable" is under God's control. Maybe it sounds easy, but as I've said, the transition is painful - but completely worth it. Take time to immerse yourself in Jesus - letting Him determine your path by giving Him everything.
Part II will consist of looking at the passage in Matthew, Mark and Luke, where Jesus really gets to the heart of the question: what does it mean to follow Jesus?
