Saturday, November 2, 2019

UNAVAILABLE!

John 20:24-25

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

           Thomas may have been guilty of no more than being genuinely and innocently occupied with other business when the disciples met together. John simply said he was not there; he did not say he was unwilling to come. Nevertheless, his absence had consequences. He missed seeing the Lord with the others and continued in his doubt and disappointment. Thomas provides an example to all of us who are unavailable to God for one reason or another.

           Many are unavailable because they are unwilling to give up their comfort and safety in order to follow Christ. The following verse shows that the excitement of the moment may inspire one to hastily volunteer but Jesus explained that there would be hardships.

Luke 9:57-58

57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

           Others are trapped by family expectations. I remember the struggle and conflict that I had with my well-meaning parents when I told them I was going to quit my job, leave home and prepare myself for ministry. They thought I had lost my mind and had no problem telling me so. Family expectations dictated that I follow a certain path. Had I done so; I would have been unavailable to God.

Luke 9:59-60

59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

60 Jesus said unto him, Let the [spiritually] dead bury their [physically] dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

           Following Jesus requires a single focus. All other plans are filtered through His plan for my life. All other opinions are superseded by His principles and either added or dismissed. In this way the early followers came to be known as Christians; literally Christ-ones.

Luke 9:62

62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

James 1:6-8 "The man who trusts God, but with inward reservations… cannot hope to receive anything from the Lord, and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn." (Phillips Translation)

Dear Lord! Let me follow so closely as to occasionally step on your heels. AMEN