There was an old saying that I don’t hear very often anymore – “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I don’t usually think of myself as “old” in the sense of someone who is already past their prime. In many ways I feel like I’m in my prime right now. I have way less hair than I did in my teens and twenties and it is no longer blonde, but I don’t feel like I’m 63 either. Speaking of new tricks, I’m having to learn how to be single again, which has been a challenge for a guy who doesn’t do “alone” very well (After all, I spent nearly 40 years with the best woman a man could ever ask for). Not to mention I don’t own a house anymore, I live with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and I’m retiring from my job in a couple weeks, although I don’t necessarily see these three things as challenges.
2020 was a rough year, but I really don’t have a sad story to tell. Since the beginning of last year I have experienced what David called the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I’ve been leading the men’s ministry at my home church (Grace Church in Willis, Tx.) since January of 2021 and that might be considered a challenge to some but I see it as an adventure. In fact, I see the entire path that God has set before me as an adventure. Yes, there are challenges, but all adventures have them. It makes them all the more worth it. I love adventure and I believe we were all made for adventure. We are all created in the image of a very adventurous God.
When Jesus called each of his disciples and said “follow me”, I doubt they had any idea or inkling of the adventures that awaited them. Here was a young carpenter-turned-rabbi who lived the most adventurous life of any man who ever walked the earth. Look at this –
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord permit me first to go and bury my father.” but He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)
In our current American culture of “wokeness” and hyper-sensitivity, these words from Jesus would seem very harsh, offensive, and not safe. The first person tells Jesus, “I’ll follow you wherever you go”. This is my own paraphrase, but I imagine this – Jesus then says, “Great! Oh, by the way, I don’t really know where we’ll be sleeping on any given night, it could be in someone’s house or on the ground under the stars.” I wonder if the seeker was looking for something a little more comfortable. Jesus says “follow me” to another one and he says he needs to go and bury his father first. Sounds like a pretty good reason to put it off for a little while, I mean, making sure your dad gets a proper burial is pretty important, right? Sure, but that’s not what he’s talking about. In those days, every man left an inheritance for his children. The man knew that once his father had died he would have his portion of the inheritance and could likely afford to follow Jesus anywhere.
Jesus told him, “Don’t wait for your father’s burial. Let those who are already dead wait for death. As for you, go and proclaim everywhere that God’s kingdom has arrived” (TPT).
The third guy seemed to have a very good reason to procrastinate. He wanted to go back first and say goodbye to his family back home. Jesus wasn’t having any of it.
“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Following Jesus should be the most exciting, adventurous, fulfilling thing we could ever set out to do but, sadly, religion has made it mostly about going to heaven someday. The kingdom of God is not some far off place we get to go to in the sweet by and by. This spiritual realm called the kingdom of God is actually more real than the natural realm. This kingdom I speak of is exciting, fun, full of adventure, and…not safe! No, not safe at all if you’re looking for the kind of security that any kind of comfortable man-made security net might provide.
The kingdom of God appeared on earth in the form of a man called Jesus and he has invited us to come with him! In the book, “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” from the Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, there is a scene that kind of sums up what I want to say here. Lucy is having a conversation with Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver. They tell her about Aslan the Lion (representing Jesus Christ) and Lucy asks,
“Is he safe?”
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe?
‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.
He’s the king, I tell you!”
In this new season of my life I’m learning about a new level of surrender – falling. Yes, it’s like backing up to the edge of a cliff and falling. It feels dangerous because I don’t know what it is going to feel like at the bottom. It’s not so much the falling that scares me. It’s the sudden stop at the bottom with nothing to catch me! I took my 4 year old granddaughter, Norah, to the park earlier. There is a large rock about four feet high that kids can climb up on. She climbed up on it and said, “Pawpaw, I’m going to jump! You stand over there and catch me!” And she jumped and I caught her – over and over until she got tired. She had complete trust that I would catch her. Was it safe? No. I could have dropped her. Safety wasn’t an issue with her because she knows her Pawpaw loves her and is too good to let her hit the ground.
There is nothing “safe” about Jesus, but, oh, is He good!
I trust Him.
Kevin