The Cost To Follow

Luke 17:32
Remember Lot's Wife.

I posted an interview with Carol Wimber, wife of John Wimber who was founder of the Vineyard movement. Why? Because she speaks of a some what radical view the church has a hard time dealing with. Oh, they talk about it. They espouse it. They have even created offices and special positions where those who want to can embrace and flourish. What is it I'm talking about?
Leaving every thing behind.

When God calls you to come into this new life with Christ, there is a line of demarcation. A line that you cross that totally separates your old way of living from this new call to follow. The moment you take that first step in obedience to answer His call to salvation, your life is no longer your own. Now we don't really want to think about it this way. Why? Because society tells us we should expend ourselves on carving out a lifestyle of comfort and pleasure. That such is the main goal, and should be the focus of our time here on planet earth. God has different ideals.

Does this mean we are all to shuck our existence, put on long brown robes with sandals, and live on a mountain top secluded from others and grow organic vegetable while we meditate? No. Funny thing about priests and nuns....they found out that they may be able to separate themselves from society, so to speak, but they can't separate themselves from their own passions and desires, personal struggles and battles. But truth be known, we (the church) should be teaching that when you do come to Christ, your life is truly not your own any more. Funny part in all of this is if in fact Christ has called you to follow Him, then you will not experience any true joy or happiness until you answer that call. Realizing that it costs us everything to follow. That is a bitter pill for some to swallow.

So why a verse about Lot and his wife. Because, to me, she stands as a sad example of a person who could not walk away from their old lifestyle. I won't go into a long explanation, but suffice it to say if you read the account in Genesis, you'll see that Lot made choices that took him and his family into a lifestyle of sin and darkness. They became citizens there. They participated in the government and became a part of the community. There may have been some ego involved, since they came from living in tents, wandering around the desert, to living in the big city with all its attractions. Anyway, God took them out of the city and told them to not look back, but Mrs. Lot couldn't do it. She longed for one last look at the place her heart loved. Whammo!  She became a pillar of salt. Not exactly the way I want to wind up.

Vicki and I have totally relied on God for the last 20 years. There were times when we wondered if He would come through. But we had to learn the lesson that His timing and our timing were not necessarily on the same schedule. We learned that God IS faithful and that what we read in Scripture is truth. That if we seek His rule and reign in our personal lives first....if we seek His righteousness (His nature and character) then He would add all these things to us. What things? Whatever our needs are....He would provide them. He has never failed us in this regard. There aren't any times of looking back on our past life wishing we had it back. I do not want to go there.


Enjoy the video, and my prayer is that you would gain a clearer picture of where God wants to take you in this journey we call life.
God on you....
mb