![]() No.6 //////// An IronMen Moment //////// A Tracking Question for you!! What *kind* of canine track is this? (Hint: Use the chart below, in the comments.) === Following Jesus' tracks === Someone came to Jesus and made a great claim: "I will follow you wherever you go" (in Matthew 8:19,20). Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (v.20, niv) In a way, Christ was saying, "I'm going nowhere, as you imagine, I have no address here." Was this response meant to *discourage* that person from following? The man was identified as a "teacher of the law," the Scripture says. Perhaps that is our clue. After all, weren't such teachers rightly called vipers by His cousin, John the Baptist? Christ had some pretty heated discussions with them, calling them hypocrites, so bad that they were like white-washed tombs, filled with dead man's bones. But, think of it. Remember the teacher of the law, the Pharisee named Nicodemus? Given Nicodemus' genuine interest in Jesus (John 3), that's a difficult conclusion to reach, that He intended to *discourage* him. Perhaps He loved them, too, those teachers of the law. He brought the good news to tax collectors, after all. So, what did Jesus have in mind, if it wasn't to *discourage* him? /////// Jesus' call to discipleship /////// Perhaps it was to *encourage* the man to put his sights higher, where Christ's were placed. Rather than on the earth. The earth is where foxes create dens and birds build nests. He instructed everyone, "Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." (Luke 12:33 niv) Hmm...treasure in heaven. Paul continued that theme, "In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:19 niv) Followers of Jesus were encouraged to focus *not* on the temporary, but on what comes after. On what is eternal. This is a central tenet (or teaching) of discipleship for the Christian. It's foundational to followership. A cornerstone to our creed. It was so incredibly important that this reminder was among the last things He taught: "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2,3. niv) So, if we are following the tracks left by Jesus, and we intend to stick to that trail, then it pays to remember WHERE those tracks are leading us. Right? To eternity. To the Father's house. To a future free of the harms, losses, sins, and darkness of this temporal world. It's a grand future. And there is work to do on way! Great purpose as we follow His tracks. Brought to you by IronMen.
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