Nowhere to lay his head
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
In his book on Job, Mike brings another valuable
perspective to light.http://forthrightpress.com
COLUMN: FIELD NOTES
Nowhere to lay his head
by Michael E. Brooks
tinyurl.com/88f8a83
"And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes
and birds of the air have nests, but the Son
of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Luke
9:58 NKJV).
A new church building was recently dedicated in
Katalthala, Bangladesh. It is a small building, but it
contains a room enclosed on the end of the veranda.
This room is about 4 by 6 feet in interior space. It
was built for the use of the young evangelist who
travels two hours each week on Saturday to visit the
church members, then stays overnight and preaches on
Sunday.
Though it is only for one or two nights per week, this
is still a tiny space to serve as home.
I remember visiting another Bangladeshi Church almost
twenty years ago and going into the mud hut where the
preacher lived full-time. If I stood with both arms
outstretched I would touch opposing walls in either
direction. This evangelist was unmarried; nevertheless
his quarters were extremely modest.
Hundreds of millions in this modern world live in
miserable huts, ghettos, tent shelters, or simply on a
piece of cardboard under a bridge. Many are homeless,
and we feel much compassion for them.
Some live in such conditions out of choice; others
because of terrible mistakes they themselves made
earlier in life. But some are there because of factors
beyond their control. Regardless we feel pity and wish
there were some way to truly improve their lot.
By his own statement, Jesus was a homeless man. He
claimed to own less than the foxes and birds, with no
place to call his own. This was not because he could
not afford better.
He was creator of the world. It was not because he had
sinned or erred, bringing terrible consequences upon
himself. Jesus gave up his home for our sakes, that he
might give us an eternal home with God (Philippians
2:5-8).
In Luke 9, Jesus finds three men with whom he discusses
the possibility of their becoming his disciples. To the
first he warns, "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his
head."
This statement is understood by most Biblical students
to emphasize the cost of discipleship. When one chooses
to follow Jesus he or she chooses a life of sacrifice,
where there are no certain comforts or security. The
true disciple may become a homeless person on this
earth, just as Jesus was homeless, going wherever God
led him.
The Lord does not require this exact sacrifice of every
one. But we may not know what we will be required to
leave or lose. We cannot bargain with him. Whatever he
asks of us we must be willing to give. Whether it is to
live in a tiny room in order to preach the gospel, or
to give our second coat to one who needs it (Matthew
5:40), the only certainty is that Jesus will make
demands of us. We will pay a price to be his disciple.
But the reward we will eventually receive is much
greater (Luke 6:38).
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