Someone excitedly says to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Luke 9:57).
Jesus immediately explains what following Him involves.
- Forsaking comfort
- Shedding things
- Seeking to know and do God’s Will always and everywhere
We never want to be attached to possessions in a way that things have a hold over us. This is an especially hard struggle today when the desire for owning and enjoying things seems to be the ultimate quest of many people and the driving aim of our culture.
Following Jesus involves the use of goods as means and not as ends as if collecting and displaying trophies. Assuredly, material things are good when they are ordered to a higher and more noble end – e.g. to support a family, to educate children, to grow in wisdom and understanding of God’s ways, to help people in need. While it is not easy lessening attachments to people, places and things that can hinder our progress to the Lord, it is entirely necessary if we are really to follow Jesus in our daily living.
Hear the exuberance of Saint Paul having taken to heart Jesus’ demands:
“I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Philippians 4:12-13).
So is it meant to be for us all.
