When I was in high school, a friend of mine was driving us to a school event. At one point, he reached over to the radio to change the station. As he reached over, he accidentally turned the steering wheel so quickly and sharply that the car swerved off the road, rolled over three times, and landed upside down in the bottom of a ditch. Remarkably, everyone was okay. My friend didn’t break any laws by trying to change the radio station. It’s a good thing to listen to the radio—except when it gets in the way of safe driving.
There are any number of good things on which we might focus our attention in life—our families, friends, jobs, and hobbies. It’s good to focus on these things—except when we give more attention to them then we do to Jesus.
“[Jesus] said to another man, ‘Follow me’” (Luke 9:59). When Jesus calls individuals to “Follow me,” he isn’t suggesting that he is one of many good things in this world to which we might pay attention. He is expecting to be our highest priority. Why?
Because only Jesus keeps us safe for eternity.
Because our family, friends, jobs, and hobbies are all gifts from him.
Because when we realize how inattentive we have been to his Word and will, Jesus always treats us with grace.
Because when we look at the cross of Jesus, we see that his greatest priority will always be to love us.
