Now or Later

“And a scribe came up and said to him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’…. Another of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’” Matthew 8:19, 21 ESV

Eagerness is one thing, but eagerness without thought is quite another. Being committed is honorable, but procrastination reveals non-commitment. Many of us dive into projects and make commitments of one kind or another only to find out that we cannot fulfill the responsibilities that come along with it. We are eager to commit to a worthy cause, which is noble, but totally misrepresent what we are actually capable of doing and how deep our commitment is when it is time show up. This is especially true in our work for the Lord. A lot of Christians over commit, but more often than not we have a tendency to overestimate ourselves without giving thought to the costs, or we delay our involvement mirroring our uncertainty.

Jesus came across to two individuals during His days on the earth which He could have also found among today’s Christians. One was a scribe, a teacher of the Law, who was enthused with what he saw of Jesus. He witnessed the miracles of healing and casting out demons. With his knowledge as a teacher he must have realized that no one can do these things unless is was of God. He was eager to follow Jesus and to be part of what He was doing, perhaps even the much anticipated establishment of His kingdom on earth. But our Lord saw through his eagerness, for he was not thinking passed what he saw. He did not see that Jesus had nowhere to call home. Using today’s vocabulary, Jesus was on the road seven days a week. Even though the scribe said that he would follow Him wherever He went, Jesus knew he had not considered his commitment.

Another disciple of Jesus also expressed interest in following Him, but wanted to delay it until he was in a better position financially receiving his inheritance from his father. He missed the importance of the urgency of Jesus’s ministry on earth. Time was short and time is short today. The work of presenting the gospel is an urgent matter. It requires a total daily commitment, not based on our time table, but on God’s as He opens up opportunities for us to serve Him.

May we have a willingness to follow Jesus wherever He leads us. Let our eagerness be met with the thought of the urgency of presenting the gospel and considering the cost. May we be obedient Now and not wait until Later.