We all have priorities. Most of the time, if there is more than one to prioritize, we are conflicted, and our motivation becomes unclear. However, when it comes to commitment, we should always weigh what truly matters. We cannot decide to commit to one thing, then suddenly abandon it when we no longer feel like it.
Today’s passage (which we will be addressing in the next articles) is found in Luke 14:25-33. It talks about Christ correcting the wrong idea and attitude of someone who wants to prioritize Him. During this time, many were following Christ already. For many, this seemed to indicate that Christ was succeeding in His ministry. Luke 14:25a says, “Now great crowds accompanied him,”
We see in various passages of the Bible that there were indeed huge gathering of people around Christ. There’s the feeding of the 5000 and 3000. When Zacchaeus met Christ, crowds were following Him, and many more. This crowd who accompanied Jesus were probably a mix of Jews with different reasons or priorities in following Christ. Some saw Him as the much-awaited revolutionary, a political king. Others prioritize their health and wanted Jesus to perform miracles for them. Still, others were coming out of curiosity about His appearance, teachings, and activities.
For many churches, having such a huge gathering like Christ’s would mean they are successful. This is the world’s calibration of success. However, instead of praising the crowd, thanking them for their support, Jesus confronted them. Jesus could have continued walking like a mafia boss followed by gang members, but He didn’t. Instead, our passage tells us, “and he turned and said to them”
A great crowd is misleading. Just because many are doing it doesn’t make it genuine. Christ wanted genuine reason for prioritizing Him. The things that the crowd wanted from Jesus are what they themselves prioritize. They wanted freedom from oppression, they wanted healing from sickness and diseases, others even wanted to share in Christ’s popularity. But all of these are temporary sources of happiness. Unfortunately, many of us want to be with Christ for the same things as the crowd.
Ask yourself this question: If you are following Christ, what’s your reason? This might be offensive, but it is a much-needed reflection. Removing all the glitz and glamour, the fun and entertainment, the coolness and the jokes that many churches offer, would you still follow Christ and listen to His words even if the church looks like your grandmother’s church? Christ doesn’t want followers who are only after material and temporal gains. He wants followers who will follow Him for the sake of Him alone.
