Malachi 3:6-10

“FOLLOWING FIRST”

1 Chronicles 29:10-18; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 9:57-62

Jesus says: “Follow me.”

And one person answers: “O.K. I will follow you, wherever you go.”

But another man says: “O.K., but first, let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus looks right at him and says, “Let the dead bury the dead. If you want to live, you have to turn your back on everything else and follow me, because not following me means you are dead.”

Jesus says: “Follow me.”

And the third person says: “O.K., I’ll follow you, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.”

But Jesus says, “No, that’s not going to work, either. No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

What does that mean? What does it mean to “follow Jesus”? Where is Jesus going, anyway?

I was in a Grace member’s place of business this week and saw a sign thanking customers for contributing to a Katrina relief fund;

And then I was at a meeting with Springfield City schools administrators, and I saw the name of a Grace member on a schools action committee.

On our “praise and prayer” sheet this morning is the name of a Grace member now volunteering in Mississippi, taking food to hurricane victims;

And Friday, I was with a Grace family as we celebrated the return of their husband and father from nearly a year in active military service.

Coaching and cheering your children’s teams, working in football concession stands, serving in booster groups, in politics, community service groups, your jobs, your neighborhoods. Giving to others. This week, I saw and heard, in so many ways, how much you give of your time, your energy, and your financial resources to others.

Where was Jesus headed when he said to those men, “Follow me”?

I was talking with a young man this week, trying to witness to him. But he said to me, “No one thinks about eternal life these days.” I disagreed; I want to think that the work I’ve given my life to is of supreme importance. But he said, “Look around. How do people invest their lives?”

Jesus was headed toward death and heaven and forever.

Jesus doesn’t say: Follow me toward a carefree life. Follow me toward a life of pleasure and plenty, a life where you take care of your own first and then, with the time, energy, and money you have left over, you care for others.” Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me.” And on that cross, what we want will have to die.

If we are truly going to follow Jesus—walk in the way He walks, live the way He wants us to live, be His witnesses in this world—we can’t be looking back and staying attached to things and purposes that used to be the focus of our lives. Our focus must be on those things that have eternal value.

There’s nothing wrong with all the “good” things that we do for our families, our community, our nation— but we must face the truth: Most of the things that we devote our time, our energy, and our money to are “of this world.” They won’t matter when we die. The unique thing about the kingdom of God is that it’s about both—this world and the next. So the only way to be fit for that kingdom is to live on earth in the way that prepares us for heaven.

The Church universal is the only entity in the world—now or ever—that does the work of God’s kingdom: reconciling sinful human beings to a holy God, spreading the Good News about God’s love and mercy and forgiveness. I sometimes wonder: Where would I be if someone had not paid for the workbooks and craft supplies at that Vacation Bible School where I became a Christian all those years ago? If some people had not called and paid their pastor to organize that children’s ministry? And, just like those individuals, you and I are invited by Jesus to follow Him by returning to God “His tithes and our offerings” so that the mission of the Church can be carried out, and some other child or teenager or adult will hear about God’s love and enter into His kingdom.

Years ago, I learned a little saying that puts things into perspective: “Only one life—so soon it will pass. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Next Sunday, October 16, is Consecration Sunday. We’ve all been getting letters about it, asking us to consider our financial giving. That day, we’ll be filling out our pledge cards, to indicate what we plan to give to God’s work through Grace church during 2006.

But I know how the internal dialogue sometimes goes: “Why should I give more to the church? They’re always asking for something. And I already give. And I give money to lots of other good causes, too.”

That may be true: Lots of groups and organizations do “good” things, and each of us can always use more money for our own purposes. But it isn’t the Church who’s asking; it’s Jesus who’s telling: If we are following Him and putting the kingdom of God first, considerations about what we want to do with our money (vacations, retirement, even college educations) have to come second. When we turn toward the God’s kingdom everything we call “our own” is put in the rear-view mirror.

When Jesus asked those men to follow Him, He was walking straight toward death—for you and me: so that you and I could follow Him, too, and live new lives, now and forever in His presence. Jesus gave His whole life for the Church (Ephesians 5:25). All He’s inviting us to do is to support it with the financial resources He has entrusted to us.

Before next Sunday, Jesus invites you to get into a quiet space and spend time listening to God’s Holy Spirit tell you how much more you need to let go of, so that you can continue to be fitted for the kingdom of God.