last night was student visitation. simply put, we pack up in cars and take some grub to HS and MS kiddos who have come to see us. it's the least we can do. just so you know, these visits usually last around 10 minutes per visit. there's no time limit. there's not a said time that we're told to be there. just saying it's usually around 10 minutes because we visit around 6 or so which is dinner time and we don't want to bother anybody. last night was different. i was with jeff, tiff, and hays. we had no idea what we were in for. the first house was full of life and kiddos. the family couldn't have been sweeter. we spent close to 15 awesome minutes with them and walked away with big smiles on our faces. i was so encouraged by them and look forward to seeing them again. we got in the car and headed out to the next family. as we were about to pull onto their street, we saw familiar faces that had just been to see them and had just brought them a pie. well, we had a pie for them, too. so we brought 'em another one. knocked on the door and for the next hour and half walked through the Gospel. we didn't teach. they cut up the pie that was meant for them and fed it to us. even added whip cream and limeades to drink. the man began to teach us about all things that surround his job in the city and seamlessly walked into the Gospel. he taught us last night. walked through the book of Exodus. chapter 24 to be exact.
my favorite thing john mayer has ever said is that his bass player, pino palladino, knows music like they were old war buddies. great line. incredible comparison. i've never been in war, but i get the picture. this man seemed to know Jesus like they were old war buddies. trusted Him. knew Him. really, really believed He was who He said He was. gosh, i want that.
we all got in the car and just smiled. the whole night was such an incredible experience.
(insert complete randomness here)
on the way home, we decided that warm vanilla sugar was the best smell in the history of the modern world and since tiffany was with us, we decided to end the night at a shop that had the warm vanilla sugar smell. well, they were closed and so we went next door to a clothing store and they had seersucker pants for 12 bucks. yes, 12 bucks. SALE. i have never felt more southern. for maximum effect, i have decided to drink sweet tea out of a mason jar every time i wear them.
(end of awesome randomness)
fast forward to now. i'm completely humbled and stuck. tomorrow night's talk is through luke 9. luke 9:57-62 to be exact. READ IT. then you'll understand where i am. it's tough. that's exactly why we are studying it. studying Him. i want to know Jesus. i want to love Him and follow ALL the things He says. i want the whole "old war buddies" thing. this text is difficult. difficult to live and i'm finding even more difficult to preach. why? because if i'm not living it then i don't deserve to preach it. my life must be better off stage than on stage.
three men approach Jesus. seemingly, completely willing to follow Him. and Jesus tells them three things that you won't find in any church growth manual. in fact, to me, it seems the Son of God does His absolute best to tell them to walk away. david platt says that the disciple's jaws had to drop every time Jesus told the crowds these things. not exactly a ministry builder. or, is it? (note: it's not about the number of people we have in our churches, but the kind of people we're producing."-platt) HE'S RIGHT.
three different situations. seemingly the same thought throughout. Jesus proclaiming Himself as the absolute most important responsibility they could ever have. for Him, we should risk it all. He tells the first man that He is the Son of Man and even He is homeless. thus, that dude will more than likely be homeless. He tells the second man to forget about burying His dad, telling him the most important thing is the kingdom of God...let somebody else do it...there are more important things. and finally, the third man wants to say goodbye to the fam before he goes off and Jesus says you can't look back. what does all this mean? what does it mean to be a follower of this Jesus? it means a lot of things. it means placing the Son of God at the top of my "satisfaction quotient." i mean really placing Him there. no matter what. no matter the situation. no matter the call.
what would i do if i were one of those three guys?
this is what i'm walking through. there is a STRONG sense of urgency. and that's an understatement. when it comes to souls and their eternal home, going to the hard places and preaching salvation is more important than any house. any roof over my head. any funeral. more important than seeing my family one last time. that's the truth He wants me to know. i don't have it all together yet, but there is a stirring in me to know this Jesus. to TRULY follow. TO HAVE HIS HEARTBEAT. to walk through this text. to struggle through it. this is not a passage i can sprint through. this one's felt like mud for the last couple days. it's been a struggle to even put one foot in front of the other. but i know it's good. i know He's good. it's stretching me. it's tough. brutal. but He is King and i want to know Him so much more than i do right now. like old war buddies.
g
(from husky's blog. photo from sidelinepros)
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