We are all called to be followers of Christ. Being a follower brings wonder and insight, comfort and peace, but it also brings challenges and encourages us to see the world in new and startling ways.
Following is a daily decision to join our risen Lord on the path to which we are invited. It is a decision to open ourselves to both the wonder and the challenge.
Now is the time to decide. A new, startling view of the world awaits.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Luke 9:57-58
Have you ever felt alone? Like you didn’t belong? Would it be hard for you to believe that sometimes Jesus felt the same way?
Jesus was a human being. He became human to experience and go through the same things we go through. He wanted to stand with us. Part of being human is having moments of feeling like we don’t belong. But part of following Jesus is realizing that we are never alone because Jesus understands and claims us. We will always belong to Jesus.
We may not always feel like we belong, but today’s passage reminds us that as followers of Christ we will always belong to the God who understands, the God who became human to feel what we feel, the God who will always claim us. We get to belong to the God who understands and continues to love us unconditionally.
Jenny Clamon
God who claims us, help me to see and feel your continued love for me. Help me to cling to the belonging I find in you, in the moments when I feel alone. Amen.
Following means commitment to a way that is sometime clear,
And sometimes vague.
There is no assurance that you will always know certainty,
But you will surely know this:
The One you follow will always be with you,
Just ahead of you, offering in every moment,
In darkness and in light,
The invitation.