MAY 31, 2013
Fickle
Followers
Read: John 12:12-19;
19:14-16
Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a
donkey’s colt. —John 12:15
How
quickly public opinion can change! When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the
Passover feast, He was welcomed by crowds cheering to have Him made king
(John
12:13). But by the end of the week, the crowds were demanding that He
be
crucified (19:15).
I
recognize myself in those fickle crowds. I love cheering for a team that’s
winning,
but my interest wanes when they start losing. I love being part of a
movement that
is new and exciting, but when the energy moves to a new part of
town, I’m ready
to move on. I love following Jesus when He is doing the
impossible, but I slink away
when He expects me to do something difficult. It’s
exciting to follow Jesus when I
can do it as part of the “in” crowd. It’s easy
to trust Him when He outsmarts the
smart people and outmaneuvers the people in
power (see Matt. 12:10; 22:15-46).
But when He begins to talk about suffering
and sacrifice and death, I hesitate.
I
like to think that I would have followed Jesus all the way to the cross—but I
have
my doubts. After all, if I don’t speak up for Him in places where it’s
safe, what
makes me think I would do so in a crowd of His opponents?
How
thankful I am that Jesus died for fickle followers so that we can become
devoted followers.
For Further Thought
Read these Bible verses and ponder Jesus’ love for you
(Rom. 5:8; Rom. 8:37-39; Heb. 13:5-6,8; 1 John 3:1).
Allow your devotion to Him to grow.
Christ deserves full-time followers.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2013
