Overflow Daily...ish: Focused


Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Matthew 8:18-22 (ESV)

On my 30th Birthday, one of the gifts that my wife gave me was a T-Shirt that read, “If I am not playing Board Games, I am thinking about them”. And if you know me, you know that I love playing board games. I love that every game is a bit different and requires you to think in a unique manner depending on the current conditions of the game. Your mission is always the same, to win. But how you accomplish the mission is variable, it is affected by past decisions and decisions made by your opponents. And even though you may question why your opponents are making the moves that they make, you know that their moves are ultimately driven by their desire to win.

In this passage, we read of how Jesus’ decision was affected by his goal. Jesus looks around him and what does he see? He sees a large crowd of people around him. He was popular, sought after, envied, and desired. And what does he do? He gave orders to the disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. There was not a larger crowd of people waiting for him there. In fact, upon his arrival he will perform a miracle and the people will beg him to leave! Why leave your adoring fans for a place of rejection? Why is Jesus making these “unstrategic” decisions which seem, at the moment, to be counter intuitive. They seem to actually reduce the kingdom he is building as opposed to growing it.

Some clarity however is given by the description of several disciples that seek to follow Jesus. While we do not know how they responded, we do know what Jesus is trying to convey. In order to follow Him, you must count the costs. You must understand that when you follow Jesus, you are giving up comfort, convenience, and, at times, family. And this reveals that Jesus is not working up some sort of strategy for exponential growth. He is simply submitting to the Father. He knew the costs and the temptations. And he is willing to even abandon fame and glory from man as he seeks to accomplish the will of the Father.

What are we willing to sacrifice? Are we ready to present ourselves as living sacrifices to our God? To our Lord and Savior who paid the penalty and suffered the punishment for our sins, are we willing to humble ourselves in worship? Have we counted the costs? Epiphany passed this past Sunday and we are reminded of who Jesus, our Savior, our Lord. I pray that we may live in light of this truth. May the lamb who was slain receive glory bought by his blood.

Grace and Peace,

-Pastor Alex

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