Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first permit me to say farewell to those at home.”
Luke 9:61, LSB
In Christ, the calling that He places on our hearts is an all-or-nothing call. In our Lord, nothing is meant to be an in-between but either you are in, or you are out. This can be difficult. Are there people who try to live this way? Of course, it is the human way, but it is not God’s way. Our faith is not about the membership we hold in a congregation, but it is about who we place our trust within. A person can sit and hear the message of hope in Jesus Christ but unless the heart of the hearer is fully embraced by Jesus Christ it may just be a nice little message that makes them happy for a time but quickly dissipates in the vespers of life. Faith is letting go of the things of the past and grabbing onto Christ. It is, as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Walking down a dark staircase, without seeing the next step.” God wants our full trust in Him and our focus to remain centered on Him. This is what Jesus asked of this man and it is what He asks of us when He calls out to us, “Follow me.” When we place our trust in Him, He will give us His peace.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.