the cost of following Jesus

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30
Luke 9:51-10:12
Psalm 74:1-23
Proverbs 12:11 

Let's look at Luke. Some people come to Jesus and say they want to follow Him. But then they say they need to do something first. He makes it clear that they need to put God first, before everything else: before family, before any other obligations... Jesus must be our first priority.

But once we put Jesus first, something interesting happens. Experiencing Jesus teaches us to be loving and kind to everyone else in our lives. Recently a woman yelled at me in a parking lot and I really wanted to respond in a less than kind way. But I said a quick prayer that basically went like this, "I'm going to be kind to her because You're so kind to me." And I was nice to her instead.

That's what God calls us to do. To be loving, kind, patient, and generous with everyone in our lives because God is loving, kind, patient, and generous with us. Many of Jesus's parables are about this exact thing.

God, thanks for teaching us the cost - and the benefits - of following You.