This post begins an eight part series entitled Revolution: Becoming a Fully Devoted Follower of Christ. The series is based on the book by George Barna.
Luke 9:57-62

Last October as we were finishing up work on our Mission / Vision I was searching for a way to describe the kind of life to which Jesus has called us. I liked the phrase “fully devoted follower of Christ,” but what did that mean?

Penny (my wife) and I were attending Catalyst and happened to hear George Barna talk about his book Revolution. In the book he describes the lives of a group of Christians who have left the institutional church but were still passionately committed to Christ. As he described the characteristics of those Christ followers, I knew I had found the description I was looking for.

For the next several weeks you will hear each of those characteristics. Actually, they are behaviors or actions. We will answer the question what does a fully devoted follower of Jesus look like.

Before we dive in to that I think we should first of all look at the attitude or mind-set of a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Being fully devoted is not just only about actions it is about the heart and mind as well.

If we are going to be fully devoted followers of Jesus we will need these attitudes.

A Commitment to Perseverance
In the passage above, one of the would-be followers seemed to be caught up in the moment. He was ready to follow Christ out of impulse. It doesn’t seem that he had through the implications of his decision. Following Jesus was not as glamorous as he suspected.

We, too, can get caught up in the same fantasy. We follow Christ because he meets my current needs of forgiveness. We get caught up in the emotion of the event. We seldom think through the implications of our decision.
There is a marked difference between
• Coming to Jesus to escape hell (there must be more)
• Making a decision for Christ (voting for Jesus)
• Becoming a Christian (a one time event)
• Following Christ ( a life long journey)
Being a follower of Christ will sometimes be exciting, fulfilling, meaningful, cool, awesome, rewarding, but there are also times when it will be tough, unpopular, painful, risky, dangerous and demanding.

Settled Priorities
Jesus called someone to follow him and he makes what seems on the surface a reasonable request.
The duty to parents was one of the highest priorities in Jewish society — it was considered to be an act of piety, but there maybe something else going on here.
By asking to wait until he buried his father he probably was asking to wait until his father died to come and follow Jesus
Jesus made it clear that following him trumped family obligations
Notice this passage:

[Lk 14:26 ESV] “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

This exaggeration was a characteristic of Semitic people; it helps create a stark contrast. The statement means that “if there is a conflict, one’s response to the demands of discipleship must take precedence of even the most sacred of human relationships.” [NIB vol. IX p. 292]

We are to have one priority above all else – following Christ

An Undivided Mind
One would-be follower simply wanted to bid farewell to his family and friends, or so it seems on the surface. This may have been a way of saying “Let me have a going away party,” or “Put all my affairs in order.” After I get every in order I will follow you. One day I will follow, but not right now.
Jesus gives a very stark word picture to highlight the urgancey of following him now

[Lk 9:62 ESV] Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

We, too sometimes long for the old life. We begin to long for the fun and forget the consequences. We don’t press on with Christ and get discouraged. We forget the end result of the old life.
Living out our complete commitment to Christ means looking forward.

[Php 3:7-11 ESV] But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Following Jesus means that the life Jesus offers is worth everything we go through. Our relationship with Christ is not an appendage to our lives; it is the core. When times get tough we don’t take a break from worship, we run to worship to be reminded of God’s care for us.
We must have the conviction down deep inside that Jesus’ way of life is the best way of life!
Someone might say, “If I follow Christ like you say there will be big consequences for me. Yes there will, but there will be consequences to any way of life you choose and you will have to live with them. Which set of consequences will you choose?

Conclusion
We don’t know what either of these would-be disciples chose. But we do know what Jesus chose. He continued down the road to Jerusalem knowing full well what was waiting for him.
The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

[Heb 12:2-3 ESV] [We should look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Jesus was faithful in all he did. He took the journey ahead of us. He looked at you and me and said it was worth it. And now he calls us to do noting more than what he did.