“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Lk) 9:51 Jesus is looking for faithful followers. He is not interested in hearing people “say” they want to follow.

There are always those who want to follow, but other things keep getting in the way. For one it was ‘let me just bury my father’; for another, it was ‘just let me go home and say good-bye.’ One delay after another or one reason after another (all that sound perfectly acceptable to the one giving them) are the difference between those who “say” they want to be faithful followers and those who actually become faithful followers. Which one are you?

Satan loves to distort the truth and distract our minds. We must decide to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:2) and do it. We must determine to love Him, more than anything else (Mt. 22:37,38). We must do more than say we want to follow, we must actually qualify (Lk. 14:26,27,33).

Just as Jesus set His face to follow the Father’s will to its completion, He is looking for faithful followers who will follow His will to its completion. So, do you just talk about being a faithful follower, or are you a faithful follower?

Dr. William Burnham is pastor of Point of Grace Church in Covington. He can be reached at burnhamw@charter.net.