Jesus' Disciples Are Fat

As they were travelling on the road someone said to Him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus told him, "Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Then He said to another, "Follow me." "Lord," he said, "first let me go and bury my father." But He told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to those at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:59-62

There was a guy who said he would follow Jesus, but following Jesus requires us to give up comforts and Jesus knew this guy wasn't going to do that. There was another one who said he would follow Jesus, but he had to wait until his father died. There was no more sacred cultural responsibility in his world than to bury your parents. There was another one said he would follow Jesus, but he didn't want to give up his time with his friends. 

Essentially, Jesus said no to every one of them. We don't think about Jesus being that way. We think any time we say, "Hey, Jesus, I want to follow you," He is overjoyed and says, "Come on, whatever it takes, whatever terms you have, I'm down. Come on." That's not how it is.  

He rejected the guy who wanted comfort, because following Jesus requires sacrifice. He rejected the guy who wanted to wait until it was convenient for his family, because following Jesus requires us to love Him more than everyone else, even our families. He rejected the guy who wanted to have a going away party, because following Jesus requires an immediate choice. The kingdom has come. You snooze, you lose. None of these guys became disciples of Jesus, because disciples of Jesus are F.A.T. 

Every disciple of Jesus is Faithful. That means their commitment to Christ supersedes all other commitments, even to self.  

Every disciple of Jesus is Available. That means that they rearrange their lives around Christ, they don't fit Christ into their existing schedule. 

Every disciple of Jesus is Teachable. That means they don't think they know it all, or every know it all, and are continually being taught and reshaped by Jesus' words and ways.

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die to self. A lot of people want to follow Jesus, but only the F.A.T. ones do. Only those who lay down their lives, take up their crosses and follow Him are His disciples.

If you thought you were going to just add Jesus to the schedule, you misunderstood. The abundant life He promises is an exchange, not an addition. Yes, we start where we are and we grow. Yes, our faith matures over time as we follow, but we don't grow or mature if we don't follow. Want to experience the abundant life He provides. You've got to be F.A.T.