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All In: Following Jesus

| November 27, 2017 | no comments

Yesterday, November 26, was Christ the King Sunday on the Liturgical Calendar. I preached a message entitled “All In,” taken from Luke 9:57–62.

In the Gospel text, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified. A man, not knowing why Jesus is heading to Jerusalem, meets Jesus on the road and offers to follow Him wherever He goes.

Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ (Lk 9:58).

Following Jesus means that one must be willing to live with insecurity and restlessness.

Saying that we want to follow Jesus is impressive. But, we must understand that it is not always a comfortable thing to do. Foxes run to their dens and birds run to their nests when they feel threatened and when they are tired. Following Jesus means that one must be willing to live with insecurity and restlessness.

Image: James Tissot, Wikimedia Commons

Jesus is about the business of reconciliation. Our Faith demands that we be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the cause of Christ. Following His agenda is not meant to be comfortable. To be agents of reconciliation means that we must be willing to live with the necessary discomfort to bring it about.

There are so many factions in our world. Jesus died to mend the brokenness. The Cross of Christ symbolizes vertical reconciliation as well as a horizontal one. The vertical symbol of the Cross is about reconciling humankind to God. Horizontal reconciliation has to do with mending broken human relationships.

How is your relationship with the Lord? How is your relationship with others? Christ cares about both!

May we bolster the courage to follow Christ in His mission of reconciliation in a broken world.

Grace & peace,

Dr. Antipas

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Category: Fall 2017, Living the Faith

About the Author: Antipas L. Harris, D.Min. (Boston University), S.T.M. (Yale University Divinity School), M.Div. (Emory University), is the president-dean of Jakes Divinity School and associate pastor at The Potter’s House of Dallas, TX, and the founding dean of the Urban Renewal Center in Norfolk, Virginia. He is the Criminal Justice System Director for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and president of the Global Institute for Empowerment & Leadership Development, known as GIELD. He has additional experience as an educator, academic lecturer, itinerant preacher, pastor, youth director, motivational speaker, and Christian musician. He is the author of Is Christianity the White Man's Religion?: How the Bible Is Good News for People of Color (IVP, 2020), The Holy Spirit and Social Justice: Scripture and Theology (2019), Holy Spirit, Holy Living: A Practical Theology of Holiness for Twenty-first Century Churches (Wipf & Stock, 2013) and Unstoppable Success: 7 Ways to Flourish in Your Boundless Potential (High Bridge Books, 2014). AntipasHarris.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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