Tuesday December 16

keeping your commitment to Jesus

As my wife tried to get home from visiting our daughter over the holidays, bad weather shut down numerous flights. After 2 days, she had a fistful of boarding passes for planes that couldn’t leave the ground, and she joined thousands of weary travelers scrambling for places to stay.

The occasional delay is one thing. Sleeping on your luggage is quite another.

Jesus apparently spent a lot of time sleeping on the ground. When someone declared, “I will follow you wherever you go,” Christ told him, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Luke 9:57-58).

No doubt, many people showed Jesus hospitality. But it’s odd to think of Him as homeless. The simple fact remains that He wasn’t averse to sleeping under the stars.

In the week prior to Jesus’ death, Luke tells us, “Each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives” (21:37). Then, early in the morning, He would go back to the temple to teach.

I like the idea of this outdoorsy, accessible Jesus. Imagine the Creator of the cosmos going up the mountain to talk with His Father deep into the night. But then I’m reminded of His hard statement: “The Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” The Son of God, born in a stable . . . wandering as a homeless rabbi . . . nailed to a cross.

Commitment to a great cause sounds adventurous, but reality soon intrudes. Believing in Jesus is easy, but following Him poses a challenge. He may lead me to places I don’t care to go. And my pledge of allegiance rings hollow if I don’t count the cost. “Anyone who . . . looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (v.62). —Tim Gustafson

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Luke 9:57-62


Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head (v.58).

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Matthew 11:28-
30 has some great encouragement for you if you’re weary but still want to follow Jesus.

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What commitments (if any) have you made to Jesus? How can you seek His help in living up to them?

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