Today's thought - 27 October 2026 (What was remains behind)

 

I hope you are doing well, my friend and that our talks the last few days had given Jesus a new place in your life and in your day-to-day stuff. We are in this series of Who Jesus is to us and following Him is not a negotiation or a mediocre walk of my ways and my terms and my time. It is all for the glory of God and His ways are above our ways.

I am taken back to Galatians 5, and my verse is from verse 25 and as we can see it says, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives”.

But honestly, I love how Paul starts this whole chapter in verse one. He says, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law”.

So, this image I have in my head is of a person who is just out of his chains that he was bound with. You know like on those pirate ships on his way to the gallows. He was tied with these chains and finally they came lose. Now he can be bound by the laws of his trade and step back into the ship to bring vengeance on those who offended him or betrayed him or lied about him or he can accept the chance that all this is behind him as he slips of into the night and into the light of redemption and just let go of what lies behind him and soak in the air of freedom.

What a picture. Hahaha, well where are you in your journey of following Jesus. I can only hope that what we have discussed the last week has given you a new sense of direction and purpose and we both (me included) understand that the place God must have in our lives supersedes all other things.

Paul says since we are now living by the Holy Spirit, we must follow His direction. He is that small voice that speaks into our lives and into our hearts guiding us and directing us. We have to choose to follow His Word and His direction, because since Jesus has truly set us free, we must remain free from the chains and the bondage that kept us in the world.

Our Pastor used the example in Luke 14:15 – 35 of the man that was going to hold the massive banquet, and he invited all his friends. One by one they started to respond with one excuse over the next one and asked to be excused from the banquet. The man then decided to invite all the poor and needy people all over the city. Jesus uses this example and He says in verse 26, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else - your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple”.

When Jesus says hate, He does not refer to rejection and abandonment but instead refers to position. He must be first and you must always put Him above all other things as I wrote to you yesterday. To carry your cross is to take your challenges and the problems you face and keep going. The disciples left their homes, businesses, family and possessions and followed Jesus. That is why Jesus says in 33, “So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own”.

So, I think it is fairly clear that the day we decide to follow Jesus, there should be no other. It boils down to a choice of obedience or a matter of my terms and conditions and when it comes to me and the stuff that I deem more important, then you are in trouble.

There are a few things I need to remind myself when I look at what Jesus says here when we decide to follow Him. I have to look at the cost of becoming a follower of Jesus. It is an all or nothing principle. Have you ever seen a football player run halfway across the field and just stop. When we do sports or even watch sports we do not do it half-heartedly. We watch the whole game, or we play to the end, and we keep fighting to win. Why do we give up so easily when it comes to following Jesus. This series and this chapter in Luke 14, has given me a new look on being a Christian versus being a follower of Jesus. If I have decided to follow Jesus, then I look at the cross before me and the world remains behind me. Nothing and I mean nothing should alter that choice nor influence that choice. Not even my family. Jesus is and should stand out regardless the storms, the challenges and my own needs and desires. That is why Jesus so clearly said that we should seek the kingdom of heaven above all else. Go and read Matthew 6 again and meditate on all this, my friend. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide and give you direction as Paul says do not go back to what we were but instead be renewed as we part with the old self and embrace a new self. I know it is not so easy, but what I also know is that Jesus did not intend us to do this on our own. That is why we have the Holy Spirit.

Have an awesome day, my friend.