Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Matthew

Prepared to Die

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As someone who has longed to meet Jesus for a long time now, I was particularly struck by a quote I read from one of the early church fathers named Irenaeus. He said, “The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death”.  The statement also reminded me of Francis Chan’s latest book, “You and Me Forever”, in which he espouses the primary role of the husband is to make certain his wife is well prepared for Heaven.

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Our entire lives should be spent preparing ourselves and others to meet Christ. This profoundly impacts the decisions we make and activities we engage in every day of our lives.
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Simple

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It occurs to me Jesus lived such a simple life because He knew by limiting distractions, He would maximize His focus on His Father. I think we often overlook the simple teachings of Christ because we are always looking for something deeper. Like everything else in His life, Jesus kept it simple. He didn’t complicate things. He confounded the wise so the simple could plainly understand what He was saying.

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The so-called learned and wise people (much like us) missed it because they were convinced it couldn’t be that easy. Certainly issues as large as salvation and eternal life could not be so simple. We continue to make this mistake today and suffer the same consequences of those in Jesus’ day.
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No Matter the Cost

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While I risk sounding like a broken record, I continue to be convinced a large number of people who profess to be Christians want to serve without it costing them anything. We want the ticket to Heaven as long as we can maintain a reasonable comfort here on earth. We sing, “No matter the cost” but balk at giving up a Saturday to minister to the poor or homeless. We proclaim we’ll go wherever God sends us but renege when the call leads to Uganda instead of Austin or San Diego.

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When we say surrender, we tend to put guardrails around it rather than giving ourselves in reckless abandon to Christ. Unless we are willing to serve Him no matter the cost, I fear we may not even be actual followers of Jesus.
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Give it Up

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Why do many who profess to be Christians hold back from becoming disciples, fully fledged followers of Jesus? I think it is fear, but probably not the kind you’d expect. I don’t think they fear persecution or even death. From my study and observation, I believe Christians stop short of discipleship because they are afraid of giving up personal pleasures. They don’t want to sacrifice their comforts and selfish desires. This isn’t a new phenomenon.

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It can be traced back to the early church. Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD) is recorded to have said, “There are quite a few persons who hold back from becoming Christians—not because they are afraid of losing their lives— but because they are afraid of losing their pleasures.” How have we made almost no progress in over 2,000 years?
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Disciplined Intention

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I’ve written in the past about both intentional living and there being no days off for a disciple of Jesus. What I have come to realize is those two topics are inextricably linked. The way we take no days off from following Jesus is to make certain we live each moment with intention. Jesus was always “on”; He was always God. By the same token, He was always moving with intention in order to further His mission and to see His Kingdom come to fruition on earth.

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Even when it meant torture and death, Jesus steeled His gaze and intentionally move toward the horror awaiting Him. He didn’t go on vacation or spend a few days pursuing pleasure before getting on with things. He kept being who He was for the purpose of why He came. We are called to live in the same way.
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