#1015. The cost of obedience can be material loss (20/3/24)

This week in our Come to Jesus Daily Devotionals, we continue in the gospel of Luke. In Luke 9:51-62 we see that we are called to model our lives on the costly obedience that Jesus showed to His Father. Today, we are challenged by the idea that our obedience, Like Jesus’, may lead to material loss.

Luke 9:51–62

‘As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”’ (Luke 9:57-58)

Luke 9:57–58

Lesson: Following Jesus may well cost us in terms of career, income and respect.

You can listen to this devotional below (It’s also available on Spotify on the Community Church Putney podcast)

https://youtu.be/L3bzlaUIn64

It’s becoming increasingly the case that to publicly confess that you believe in Jesus and Biblical values may impact your job prospects. Many are, like the man in our text, are willing to say “I will follow you wherever you go”, but are not prepared to suffer for following Jesus.

Jesus, having been rejected the Samaritan village, had ‘no place to lay His head’. Jesus, in much of his ministry, relied on the kindness of strangers and this could sometimes fail.

Like Christ, the Christian is to be prepared to suffer loss for the Kingdom of God. We read of how the recipients of the book of Hebrews had once been prepared to do this, but were being tempted to renege on there devotion to Christ is suffering:

‘Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.  Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.  You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.’ (Hebrews 10:32-35)

Hebrews 10:32–35

Response

Following Jesus may well cost us in terms of career, income and respect. Like those in the book of Hebrews, have we lost the devotion we had in ‘earlier days’? Are we prepared to, as is written of them as they, ‘joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions’? In short has this world become our home in such a way that we’ve failed to realise that we are strangers and pilgrims heading for our true home?