HI, I will have a sugar-free caramel macchiato with extra foam and no whip, to-go, Please?
This is one of many similar phrases that I hear on a day to day basis. I am in fact a Barista, and a pretty darn good one at that, if I must say so myself- or at least that’s what my regulars tell me.
OH, my regulars… every day, ordering the same thing when they come in at their usual time. There is a natural flow in our relationship at this point. An ease. A comfort. I have grown to CARE for these people that I see everyday in this cozy little coffee shop in a wonderful town.
So, WHY would I want to leave?
At the end of Luke 9, we see three people, all eager to follow Jesus. Now, this alone seems pretty legit. This seems like awesome faith to me. I mean, these guys have only HEARD of Jesus and his ministry and they said to themselves “Man, I want to be apart of this!”. So, they stopped their plans for the day to find this awesome guy named Jesus, to tell him they want to be apart of the wonderful things that are happening. Jesus tells each of them, “Follow Me”. Two of the three men respond with “Ok cool, Jesus, let me just tie up some loose ends, and then we will be good to go!”, to which Jesus responds “no, anyone who puts their hands to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the Kingdom of God”. Whoa. that’s intense . Let me break it down for you, what Jesus is saying here.
When you get into your car, put your key in the ignition and start the engine, that’s a commitment. By doing that you are telling yourself “ok, I’m going somewhere” there is a purpose to your actions. It would be ridiculous to just sit there with your car running and just say “ah, I might just read a book first while I’m sitting here, or update my Facebook status then do some homework before I actually go to the store.” Jesus is saying we spiritually “in park”. We made this commitment, we need to put our faith in drive or else God can’t take us anywhere. It might seem easy to busy ourselves with the things around us. But when Jesus said “let the dead bury the dead”, he was saying that it was meaningless to invest time into earthly worries, and our own agendas. We can’t truly follow Jesus when we put our own plans as priority over the Lord’s plans.
We want the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice without sharing in the weight of the Cross.
We will commit if that means we will remain blameless in responsibility for our actions.
Jesus is saying , no, I want you to be radical for me. Have the faith to let go of everything and trust me without question.
I don’t want to be like the two men who picked to go back home, to the same old-same old. I want to be like the third man who said “I will follow you, wherever you go”. I can only imagine how much joy that brought to God’s heart.
We need to put our hands to the plow and not look back.
We need to actually have REAL raw FAITH.
That’s why I want to do the World Race. It would be easy to sit back, make lattes and keep in the same comfortable routine day after day.
But that’s not what Jesus died for.
He didn’t die so that you could be successful on your own strength and make a lot of money, or find fulfillment in someone or something else. He died for broken people who are in bondage to this life.
It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s not about my plans or agenda.
It’s about HIM. It’s about the beautiful freedom of the Cross.
Put your hands to that plow and don’t look back. Look ahead with wonder and glorious abandon.
Until next time,
love you guys!
Amelia Rose
