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Loyalty Tested

Sam Stringer

Dec 5, 2024

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You
wherever You go." 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. "Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said,
"Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead,
but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let
me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having
put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:57-62

“What about me?” Have you ever been asked that, maybe even had that shouted in your face? Life is full
of tests of loyalty. Today’s passage shows us three different people bringing their desire to follow Jesus in
contact with where their loyalty truly lied. You know, a lot of us bring our loyalties into church every week,
and so long as they seem to be compatible, we do fine. Chaos can ensue when our loyalty is put to the
test. Consider three lessons today from this passage:

Person #1: “I’ll follow You wherever you go.” Jesus, knowing their heart, draws this out: there won’t be
lodging. What does the passage imply? Crickets chirping, right? That person’s presence is no more. We
hear nothing more said, no response, just silence and Jesus turning to someone else. How often do we
say we’ll follow Jesus so long as certain requirements are met? I need this kind of financial picture, I need
this particular location, I need certain protections, I need people to like me, I need, I need, I need. You
see, this person Jesus is speaking to has a definite boundary on where “wherever” ends. Rule #1 from
this passage on loyalty to Christ: if we will follow Him, we cannot set boundaries with Jesus.

Person #2: “I’ll follow You if You let me first go and bury my father.” Now, I have heard that there is
speculation as to whether his father was even anywhere near death; he simply made it clear that there
was a contingent hanging over following Jesus. How many of us might say, “Oh, I would go and do this or
that for Christ, but first.” There are some commonalities we share that are agreed upon as exemptions,
but you see, with Jesus, there’s no such thing. Just because it’s cultural or common doesn’t mean He
agrees. When Jesus comes calling, He knows your schedule and your demands. Yet, He is the Lord who
keeps you breathing and living in His world. His call is not relevant to when you or I can fit Him into our
schedules. Rule #2 of loyalty to Christ: if we will follow Him, we must do so on His timetable, not ours.

Person #3: “I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” I suppose
there’s many things that could be spoken of into this but let me just suggest to you that this person is
trying to navigate their relationships and keep it agreeable with people they care about. What if they don’t
like it? What if they don’t think it’s wise? What if they remind this person of other responsibilities that are
in conflict? Rule #3 in loyalty to Christ: if we will follow Christ, we must put Him above all others despite
whether they agree with it or not.

It's very easy to nod to this and say, “Yes, we should be loyal to Jesus.” You know, He’s probably tested
that in your life and mine so many times already in the past week. Every day we’re faced with tests of
loyalty, whether our desires or His will reign supreme. Jesus is going to call us to follow Him where our
boundaries might end and then some. Jesus is going to call us to follow Him when it’s inconvenient to our
plans. Jesus is going to call us to follow Him when it might be unpopular with the people we value more
than anybody else in this world. Where does our loyalty lie? Resolve that rightly and it will help you to be
brave in your conflicts, your timing, and your comfort zones to start.
I cannot stress enough to you today that bravery is a fruit of loyalty. To be braver than lions is to be loyal
to Jesus Christ.

Sam Stringer

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.

Braver Than Lions

©2024 by Braver Than Lions

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