Go from Meh to Meaningful, Part 2
Part 2 of 3
In this 3-part series, I will address the feelings of meh, or spiritual blah, that mentors and mentees encounter on the path toward becoming wholehearted followers of Christ who rest in Him fully and reflect Him faithfully. Through Luke 9:51-62, I will highlight some major root causes of meh, the power to overcome it, and 5 simple practices for mentors and mentees alike to mitigate it. This series serves as a teaser for more in-depth writing I have been doing on this subject over the past year.
Next, The Unrealistic Follower. 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matthew tells us that this man who wanted to follow Jesus was a teacher of the Law, a very religious man who probably had memorized huge sections of the Bible, maybe even whole books of it. Other religious men feigned interest in Jesus’ teaching, but it seems this religious man genuinely wanted to follow Jesus.
Jesus reminds this zealous volunteer that the God Man who deserves a palace has no place to lay his head. In fact, Jesus calls himself “the Son of Man,” a name that he often used to emphasize his humanity and humility. Don’t get the wrong impression: this is not your typical king. Following him involves hardship.
Many of us cling to promises God never made, such as “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Tell that to Jesus. Read 2 Corinthians 1 and tell that to the apostle Paul. Truly, God will never give you more than He can handle, but life will often overwhelm you like a toddler in the pounding surf. The night before he suffered hell itself, Jesus prophesied, “In this world, you will have trouble.”
When we follow Jesus with unrealistic expectations, it’s easy to turn “meh”. We muse, “What’s the point of following Jesus when my life is nothing like I dreamed it to be?” Who ever said the eternal God needs to abide by our dreams?
Next, The Flaky Follower. 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” What’s wrong with this guy? He just wants to bury his father, which in that culture, would have taken 24 hours tops; a corpse needed to be interned the day of death in such an arid climate without any means of embalming. So what if this man delays a single day? He can follow Jesus the rest of his life.
But Jesus’ words clue us in to this man’s misunderstanding about discipleship: “But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” It seems that this man was always on the cusp of serving God faithfully, on the verge of deeper commitment to Christ’s Kingdom, always just about to share the gospel with others. He was a follower, but apparently a flaky follower, always planning to do good, but never really facing it and getting it done. He was all checklists and no checks, all “todos” and no “ta-dones.”
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions; for me, it’s often paved with bricks stamped “right after…” “I’ll get to the important things of life, right after I clean my desk…right after I watch one episode or read one chapter…right after I finish this video game or check Instagram…right after I have enough money to feel secure…right after I finish this project…Right after my kids grow up…Right after God gives me a spouse or a child.”
When we flake out of our commitments to the important things of life, it’s easy to turn “meh”. When we repeatedly fail to follow through, we eventually forfeit good intentions. It’s just too painful and embarrassing to make promises we don’t keep. In the words of Crank the robot, “Never try, never fail. Those are words I live by.”
Next, The Waffling Follower. 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” When Elijah anointed Elisha as his prophetic successor, Elisha asked if he could go home and say goodbye to his parents. Elijah’s response was, “Go back; what have I done to you?” which sounds like, “Fine with me!” Jesus’ response here seems to contradict Elijah. But, unlike Elisha, this man appears to be waffling: “I will follow you Jesus, but I have these other obligations, and I can only give you part of myself.”
This potential follower actually sounds like the flaky man just featured a few minutes ago. However, while that follower never got around to the important and challenging things of life, it seems this follower will start well enough but go adrift midway down the road because he takes his eyes off the prize. One never gets started; the other will never finish.
The Christian life is a marathon, but many of us want to treat it like a sprint. So, somewhere around mile marker 13, we often start to daydream. We longingly remember the good ol’ days, which probably weren’t as good as we remember them; and we pine for the promise of a bright future which is usually much brighter than reality. If only we weren’t in the Now, life would be so much better.
When daydreams steer our feet, we often plop down beside the road and start picking dandelions instead of pressing on. We turn a bit meh toward our commitments in the present, whether to faith, family, friends, or fellow Christians.
Next, Part 3.