One of the most uncomfortable facts about Jesus is that He is not safe. C.S. Lewis portrayed Jesus as a wild lion in his famed, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ and he said about the lion: “He is not safe, but He is good.”

Jesus is not safe in that He does not fit into a box. He says things that are unexpected and are hard to accept. He constantly makes you doubt yourself! And one of the most troubling passages is in Mark 10 in His interaction with a rich young man. This young man asks Jesus how he can attain eternal life, and Jesus tells him to go and sell everything and follow Him. Jesus knew what was important to him – his wealth! He knew his heart and his identity were wrapped around his money and yet this is precisely what Jesus tells him to let go.

Jesus wants no competition. There is only one king of the jungle, and He will not have anything surpass Him. Not our money. Not our family. And not our life, even!

Jesus would rather have us die than to choose against Him. According to this standard, you have to wonder how many of us are truly saved. How many of us can sell our house, leave America, and go live in Africa? How many of us can deny our family’s needs and choose Christ? How many of us can choose to stay single for the rest of our lives to serve Christ?

I think we will be very surprised whom we will not find in heaven. May it not be us!

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

PH