How faithfully Christ deals with every soul. Deals so truthfully with each one of us. He never allows himself to be flattered so that he is afraid to give a faithful answer. He loves men and women, but he is no man’s debtor. We can give him nothing that bends his integrity or obliges him to give us something which goes against his true purpose. He never exaggerates the benefits of the gospel, or plays down the hardships of discipleship. Those benefits are indeed wonderful: ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9), but it is painful to the flesh and any hope that the flesh has of being comfortable and at ease are faithfully crushed from the start.
This warning is needed by all of us. It was not as if Christ had read this scribe’s character and saw that he had a unique problem which no one else has. It is too easy for any of us to follow Christ for the wrong reason. Yes, there are those who want nothing to do with the gospel, but others are attracted for the wrong reason. Men and women are self-seeking by nature, and the flesh will always look for a personal advantage that conflicts with what Christ would have us seek. If Christ had allowed him to follow on these terms, he would have left him unprepared for the hardships of the Christian life.
To us this means we will be not of this world. I will make my living. This is not to suggest that we live in sackcloth and tents. We are not called to live like Mennonites, stripped down to the barest minimum essentials of life. I have been in the USA and found myself queuing up behind fifty buggies because Mennonites have no cars. There is no necessary contagion attached to the use of the things of modern life, but to become dependent on what the world has to offer and to be addicted to its pleasures is to ignore John’s warning: ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols’ (1 John 5:21).
Some may have worshipped long and yet they are too superstitious; their approach to God has no depth to it. Some don’t understand need of transformation, and imagine that they can come to God and he will be pleased to accept them as they are.