What's Your Motivation?

I've been doing the One Year Bible and it's been great. I don't always get everyday in, but admittedly I'm doing more reading of the Word now, than I've ever done in my life. Anyway, I was reading a passage in Matthew 8:19-22, two separate men come to Jesus with two agendas.

The first man was a religious teacher who proclaimed passionately that he would follow Jesus anywhere. The Lord's reply to him was “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man[a] has no place even to lay his head.”

...????

Okay.

The second guy comes to the Lord with a reasonable request as well. He simply wants to go and bury his father, and then he will be free to follow Jesus. The Lord's reply? “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

...WOW.

Seemingly two insensitive responses by our beloved Saviour and Prince of Peace, and before I honestly did not understand the reason for Jesus curt responses. I think I do now though. The two men definitely represent a large part of men who have once attempted or are attempting to follow Christ. I definitely see the similarities in myself to both men. Both men apparently had a will to follow Jesus but it was their character and motivations that shown through in their professions.

The first man was eager. We've all been there. He saw the miracles Jesus was doing, felt the power, understood that this man was something special and rather zealously proclaimed he would follow Him anywhere. Doesn't sound bad does it? Shouldn't we all have the same passion? Well looking at Jesus response it is obvious that he saw to the heart of the man's true nature. He was looking for his own personal gain. In his zealousness he had not counted the cost of such an oath. He saw the fame, the acclaim, and notoriety and decided he would coattail Christ. I have often been the same way in a moment of passion, or excitement, professing to follow the Lord without fail. Making rash promises to impress a God that needs no impression. Obedience being better than sacrifice, Jesus reply makes sense. He was getting across to the man that, whatever perks you think will come from being a part of my entourage, let me set the record straight on that. Sometimes we only want to follow God when he is doing miraculous things in hopes that the "blessings" will rain down on us by default, when our motive should really be to follow the Lord due to our passion for the work of the Kingdom. That in itself is a decision that requires a great deal of self-evaluation and reflection to make sure that a pure heart and motive are present.

The second man was less eager to follow. Feeling that he had other pressing matters to attend, he wanted Jesus to wait while he buried his father. He wanted to follow Christ, but had qualms about leaving his family behind. So he made his request. The thing is, I could actually relate to this guy also because I've often said, "okay God, just let me do this thing in my life, and I'm all yours." His reply? "NO. Follow me NOW." The urgency and bluntness of Jesus response is important because it indicates an urgency in our ability to make a decision to follow Christ. I understand now, that this guy was never going to make up his mind. If it wasn't his father, it would have been his wife, if not his wife, then his job. Excuse after excuse until he would have procrastinated his destiny away. I've been this guy, up until recently, when I realized it was not going to happen unless I dropped everything and gave myself over to the Lord. How many of us though still hold some excuse as to why we avoid our calling? Avoid our purpose? Jesus said to him, follow me NOW. Let the dead bury the dead. It wasn't lack of compassion, he is the Lamb of God, it was a sense of urgency to the young man that if he missed this opportunity it may never come around again. He would regret it, long after his father was dead and he was wandering without purpose.

One man had passion but wrong motivation. Another had too many excuses, and was a procrastinator. Both wanted to follow Christ, but both had a flawed way of thinking that would have eventually derailed them from the very thing they were trying to pursue. I realize with myself that it's important that I examine every action and motive to be sure it is pure and of God, and at the same time that I remove excuses and events that will allow me to procrastinate and put off my pursuit of righteousness. And so like Jesus says, Follow Him Now, with a pure heart and pure mind. Seek first His kingdom, and his righteousness and allow Him to bless your diligence, not just your passion.