Lukewarm Christians

Luke 9:57-62 reads: As Jesus and his disciples traveled along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Then Jesus said to someone else, "Follow me." He replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and spread the news of God's kingdom." Someone else said to Jesus, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those in my house." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for God's kingdom."

At my first Christian Alliance meeting here at Cottey, we discussed this passage and it really spoke to me. Basically, it's saying that like most beings have their 'place' in the world (somewhere they can settle down), Jesus is always on the move. He has no place to rest. Therefore, if you follow Him, you're following Him for life, and you're going to go places with Him. You can't expect to stay in one place.
Once you commit to God, there can't be any 'half-in, half-out' business. You're either all-in, or you're not at all committed to Him. There's no looking back after you've committed, and that's because God doesn't want just part of you. God wants all of you, to have and to hold, and to use for His purposes. When you accept Christ, it's as if you're 'born again,' because you've begun a new life with Him. And you can't begin a new life if you're still holding on to your old one.

I think one of the things that really bothers me the most is when people say they're a Christian, and never act like it. And I don't mean, they're trying but they occasionally slip-up and sin, because hey, after all we're only human. I mean, people that go to church, or youthgroup activities, and mission trips, and claim that they Christ is their saviour, and then turn around and do something completely un-Christian-like. What really really bothers me though, is that they're usually the ones that 'label' the rest of the Christian community.

You can't choose to be Christians some days, and then not others. It's a life-time commitment. It's a lifestyle. It's a relationship that you can't just walk away from. Because we can rely on God, and he should also be able to rely on us.