Gimmick

“Contrary to what I may have thought about Luke 9, Jesus was not using a gimmick to get more followers. He was simply and boldly making it clear from the start that if you follow him, you abandon everything – your needs, your desires, even your family.”
 - Radical by David Platt

Anyone sensing a theme here?

Abandoning things? Not fun. I'm alright with giving away some things. I'll give away a shirt so long as there's still one left in my drawer. I'll give up a book so long as I know I can get it at the library. I'll give away a can of food if I know that there's still something left in the pantry or the fridge.

But, “abandon everything”? Not so much a fan of that. I have projects I want to finish, kids I want to watch grow up, impacts that I want to make on the world.

That's not the way that it works with Jesus, though.

Every morning, when I ask what He wants from me that day, He has one answer.

“Empty yourself, MacFarlan.”

Let go of it all. Forget the answers that you think that you have worked out. Quit trying so hard. Empty yourself. Let yourself be filled with me instead.

Be (you) being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps that's why, some mornings, I make a habit of not asking. Because, some mornings, I don't want to know.

Jesus isn't using a gimmick. He's issuing a warning. “Follow me. But, expect it to cost more than you think you have to give.”