"The Critical Call" (Luke 9:23)

Imagine several large black limosines pulling up outside your place of business one afternoon.  A number of large, intimidating figures file out of the vehicles and move as a group over to where you are working. As they get closer to you, you see that there is one central figure that they surround, that they seem to be bringing to you.......and then you recognize and realize who this is.  It is Him..........the one and only President of the United States. (now when I use this analogy, I always like to picture my favorite President, mine has always been Mr. Reagan) The security guards seperate allowing the President to walk right up to you.  He offers his handshake and shockingly calls you by your first name. Then he puts his arm around you warmly and walks you off away from every one else to privately chat.  Alone now he looks you in the eyes and says, "I need you."  He goes on; "I need you to drop what you're doing here and come with me.  There is a critical job of national importance that I want you to undertake for me."

Now if you were to go, and I imagine that many of us would, it would not be because of any frustration with our current place of employment.  Nor would we respond positively because of some mid-life crisis or need for excitement in our lives.  Nor would it be, as we climb into the limosine, that we are going because of this "job of critical national importance."  At this point, we don't even know what the job entails.  Bottom line is this.....the ultimate reason we would go is because of WHO is making the request.  It's the President, how do you refuse the President.  And He wants YOU.....heck, he called you be your first name.

There would be little, if any concern, over the social repurcussions of your decision.  I doubt you would sit there and worry over who will pay the bills at home, or who will take care of my family.  You would automatically have a sense of security about all those things again stemming from who this is.  You needn't think twice about how everything will work out because of the confidence you have in the person making the call.

Doesn't it seem strange to you at all, that when the Lord of this Universe, the creator of all things, the Great I Am, asks the same of us.........namely, to drop what we're doing and follow Him, we don't have this same confidence.  Why is it when Christ says follow me, our focus tends not to be on the Person making the call, but on our loss of security?  Could it be that our image of who Christ is, our knowledge of Him, and most imortantly our relationship with Him, is somehow flawed and inadequate? 

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?