Following All The Way

“There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends and honors but it touches them too closely to disown themselves.”~~Meister Eckhart

Are you following God’s faintest whisper? Can He trust you to obey no matter how much He asks of you? Does He know that here is one, who, though others may falter and fall, will stand secure?

A person like that only comes along once in a while. Having looked at the world and all it has to offer, they turn away, not in resignation but in disgust. They don’t want it–not any of it. Their lot has been completely cast in with God.

They walk, stumbling and falling sometimes as we all do but, instead of staying fallen, they get back up and seeking the Lord’s help, they continue on their journey towards holiness and Home.

This world isn’t home to them. They don’t want it. They don’t like it. They don’t care about it one whit. Be it reputation or family or land, nothing is more important to this one than his or her Lord.

Others laugh at them for being so very old-fashioned. Snickering behind their backs–and, to their faces–others treat this one as if she has some sort of mental deficiency for choosing God as her “one thing” and sticking to it.

It’s okay to choose “one thing” and devote yourself to that. If it is a job. Or, if it is a passion…or a hobby. But, not if it is God.

It’s alright if teens are totally devoted to music: downloading music on their i-pods, dressing like the latest singing sensation, following fanatically, talking about them incessantly, attempting to find their own pathway to stardom as a rock star, a hip-hop star, a rapper, whatever–it’s all cool, man, because, you know, I mean, music is the greatest thing ever!

It’s also alright for a guy to be totally devoted to a manly hobby: hunting, fishing, golfing, racing, boating, whatever…. If you are into it and you are around others who are into it, they all understand. Your family might think you a little nuts but then again they just might be glad to get you out of the house. The gear (whatever your passion) is expensive but it’s worth it, right? People understand people like that…because we see them all the time. We might not think that, mentally, they are “normal” but, really, that’s just a joke. As long as the bills are still paid and hubby does what we need him to do, it’s great. “I mean, after all, he’s just having fun with some friends….”

It’s almost a cliche for women to be devoted to beauty, shopping and friends. Trading beauty secrets, gathering together to hit the stores (and do it really well) on black Friday (or just anytime), meeting for lunch (or in the park with the kids or after work to talk)…some women tend to really enjoy these kinds of things…and we expect that. As long as she doesn’t neglect her family in pursuit of her friends, everything is fine. No matter how much money she spends on her facials, her pedicures and manicures, or on her new wardrobe, we don’t really think that much about it. If she can afford it and it makes her happy, that’s nice for her.

For other women it might be crafts…sewing, scrap-booking, needle work…. What ever it is, they love it, they think about it, they search out the newest and best ways of doing it. Point them to a craft store where there is a sale and get out of the way…because they are coming home loaded. It’s nothing to see these women with boxes of supplies just waiting for them to get to. Half-finished projects laid aside in the excitment of starting a new one….it happens. We don’t really think that much of it (her hubby might…) because she produces beautiful things and has fun doing it. Her devotion to it is seen as good and normal.

Or, take a person who goes all out in one thing (take Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods as an example). The world applaudes their absolute devotion, their desire to excel–to be the best. We reward their dedication with trophies, accolades and money. It’s abnormal in the very best sense…oh, that more were like them. We wonder if there will ever be another…whoever. We look for them, pine for them, wait for them and, when they appear, we pounce on them, write them up, hold them up and celebrate them. We wish that we, too, could be like them. It’s not weird at all…in fact, their absolute devotion to “one thing” is seen as amazingly wonderful!

Or, a tirelessly devoted businessman. Getting up early, staying up late. Following the trends, seeking out new and better ways of being the best. Building the company by sheer determination and will power or by force of his personality, this man is determined to be number one in his field. We applaud that. We buy stock in his companies because we trust his vision for it and his devotion to it. We frequent his stores because no body is better than he is. Whether he is a small business owner or a CEO, this man earns the respect of others because of his unending efforts to build up his business.

Let that person who goes all out in pursuit of one thing be a Christian…let God be all they think about, talk about, love, and suddenly there is a problem…a big problem. Let Him be the first thought on their minds in the morning, the last thing on their minds at night and you are abnormal in the worst sense of the word. Let them be absolutely devoted to reading, studying and obeying God’s Word…let them see prayer as something they long to do–can’t wait to do–instead of being one of the ones who shares stories at small group meetings of how they would like to pray more, but, you know, prayer is so hard…and you are fanatical. Let someone come along who takes God completely at His Word and has absolute trust in Him–and people will snicker at what they see as their pie-in-the-sky attitude. Let this person rearrange and re-order their lives in order that they may be more obedient to, and more honoring of, God…and people will laugh at them, scoff at them, reject them. Other Christians will hold them up to ridicule.

We applaude those who absolutely, utterly devoted to “one thing” as long as that thing isn’t God. When it is God, the world scorns them and the church is embarassed by them. God, however, is looking for them. 2 Chronicles 16: 9a, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.”

It isn’t easy to be the one who follows all the way: you will be laughted at, scorned and mocked. You might lose friends, your family might think you weird (but, Jesus’ family thought Him weird, too). But, God is looking for you. He loves to find whose faith has no reservations, obedience has no limits, and who will trust in Him in the face of overwhelming “reasons” not to trust. When we see beyond the “reasons” not to trust, and look fully upon the One Whom we can trust no matter what…God rewards us.

God is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. He doesn’t change. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11: 6). Every now and then someone who will take God completly at His Word comes along. Someone who has counted the cost and is in for the long haul. Someone to whom their own reputation, ease, comfort, even their very life, means nothing to them. Faced with Jesus’ death on their behalf–crushed by His Father for their sins–they can do nothing…nothing at all…but obey. “This one thing I do,” Paul said. God is still looking for those today who are willing to let Him be their “one thing.” Someone so in tuned with the holy, that they will respond to the Spirit’s slightest nudge…or God’s faintest whisper…and follow all the way.