And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 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.”
Matthew 8:19-20 (ESV)
Why was Jesus telling the scribe this? Was He trying to discourage him?
I think He was warning him. Telling him beforehand that following Him wouldn’t be easy or comfortable. He’s letting this man know, “Animals have homes, but Me? I don’t. This life will not be what you’re used to. It’s not going to be easy.”
And those words still apply to us today. The Christian life is not easy! You have to give up your will, your desires. You have to resist temptations, doubts, all the ways Satan tries to bring you down. God will often ask you to give up your time, your money, your personal needs, in order to help someone else and do His will. He’ll ask you to get out of your comfort zone. You might–no, you will be laughed at, scorned, ignored, hurt, perhaps even killed.
Following Jesus is not easy! Standing up for truth and what’s right is not a simple task! Being a God-server in the midst of an evil world is not something that can be done casually!
It’s not easy–and God never promised it would be.
But don’t worry. He did promise He’d be with us. He promised He’d give us strength, peace, etc. He promised to supply our needs. He promised He’ll never change. He promised so many things!
This life won’t be easy, no; it’ll be tough. But our God is tougher. 🙂
