Jesus tells the parable of a man who prepared a great banquet. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servants to tell his invited guests that everything was ready. But to his great disappointment, “they all alike began to make excuses” (Luke 14.18).
Following Jesus means taking seriously God’s demands as Lord of one’s life. Yet many would-be followers of Jesus tend to disregard such demands, thereby failing to actually follow Jesus. They are not unlike the man who, when Jesus told him, “Follow me,” responded, “[Okay. But] first, let me…” (Luke 9.59). Here is the pattern of excuses. It starts with a theoretical agreement, followed by an explanation why one can not comply: “Yes… but…”
“Yes I know God expects us to honor our parents, but you just don’t know my parents.” “Yes Bible reading is important for Christian growth, but I can’t find the time because I’m just too busy.” “Yes Scripture tells us not to neglect the gatherings of the church, but Sunday is the only day that I can sleep in.” “Yes Christ expects his disciples to share the gospel, but what will my friends say?” “Yes God demands high moral standards from his followers, but I am only human.” “Yes I know God is calling me to serve him as a missionary or pastor, but can’t it wait until I retire?” “Yes Jesus commands us to forgive one another, but you just don’t know how much I’ve been hurt.” Examples abound!
This is how we treat the Word of God: just one opinion for consideration, nothing more. Yes we may know a lot about what Scripture says. But our knowledge seldom makes a difference in our behavior. Somehow the truths it teaches, even the commands it declares, are taken as optional. As someone has said, our knowledge of Scripture tends to be way beyond our level of obedience!
Therefore, our goal must be to get knowledge and obedience on the same level. “When [God] gives you a directive, you are not just to observe it, discuss it, or debate it. You are to obey it…. God’s commands are not given so that you can pick or choose the ones you want to obey and forget about the rest. He wants you to obey all his commands” (Henry Blackaby). And one way to reaching that goal is to make a prior commitment to obey and to do God’s will the moment it is known. Then there no longer will be “but;” only “yes.”
—Keith Y. Jainga