Following Jesus is simple, but also a feat of incredible difficulty. Our sin nature is ferocious, relentless, and refuses to shrink back without a fight. In our humanity, failure is all but inevitable. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we would never stand a chance. So, a spoiler alert, the answer to the question of, “Are you worthy?” is a resounding “no”. At least not in our own strength or by our own devices.
God’s grace is not only the most beautiful and wonderful thing you will ever experience, it is also the necessary ingredient for any of us to be found worthy in His eyes. Praise God for His mercy and sacrifice (Ephesians 2:8-9). Praise Jesus for His atoning blood (1 John 2:2). Without them, we are all lost and without hope (Romans 3:23-24).
The reality of our unworthiness is front and center every day. We’re hopeless in our attempts to live a holy life. Studying Matthew chapter 10, I came across three tests you can use to answer the “Are you worthy?” question, just in case you still have any illusions that you might be.
For the first test, Jesus said, “The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). We live in a fallen world, and some family relationships are difficult and even abusive. But Jesus was speaking in a culture that still held parents in the highest esteem, and honoring them was second nature. To hate your parents would be a death sentence (Exodus 21:17), so to hate your parents would be to hate yourself. We all love ourselves far too much to pass this test (Ephesians 5:29).
Test number two is, “…the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). If you don’t have kids, you’re not off the hook here. There is no love so great as that of a mother’s or father’s love for their children. In the deepest depths of their hearts, nothing is more precious to them and there is no purer love than a mother’s love for her child. The principle here is if you hold anything more precious than you do Jesus, you are not worthy of Him. Jesus must be the most important thing in your life, and whatever comes in second is so far back that it’s not even relevant.
How did you do on test number two? Is Jesus the most important thing in your life, bar none? For the third test, Jesus gets even more serious. He says, “And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). If you aren’t willing to surrender your will, your desires, your passions, and everything you hold dear for the sake of Jesus, you are not worthy of Him. This is an ongoing surrender, not a one-time expression or even an occasional commitment. You must surrender everything forever (Luke 14:33).
To answer “yes” to the question of, “Are you worthy?”, you would need to score a perfect three out of three. There is no need to reveal your answer here; we already know, because we all failed. We are not worthy. There is no way we can ever make ourselves worthy. Our only option is to throw ourselves on the mercy of the Creator and Judge of the Universe. The good news is that His grace is sufficient to cover all our sins and shortcomings (2 Corinthians 12:9). The bad news is you must repent of everything you are to accept His priceless gift of salvation (Acts 3:19). There is no other way (John 14:6). Without Jesus, you are not worthy to inherit eternal life (Romans 6:23).