A MATTER OF INCONVENIENCE

“As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. – Matthew 14: 13-14

Peter and Andrew were small businessmen. They ran their family business and most likely worked long hours to make ends meet. There were no health benefits, no vacation or personal time off. In those days, you were what you did for a living. But everything changed one day when Jesus came along and said: Follow Me.

The Bible doesn’t tell us, but you assume this presented a mental dilemma for these fisherman  You have to wonder if their first thought was, “now?” It would hardly seem the best time to drop everything and go. It didn’t seem like a convenient time.  But they decided to follow Jesus despite the uncertainty and the inconvenient time. To follow Jesus is to live a life of inconvenience.

It may be inconvenient to follow Jesus, but we must remember that no one has ever been inconvenienced more than Jesus. He laid aside His divine privileges and inconveniently became a human. Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus was on a mission to redeem all mankind by His sacrificial death on the cross; in His three years on earth, He was repeatedly interrupted with inconvenient requests. “Heal my daughter,” “Raise my son back to life,“ “Open my eyes,” and “Let me just touch You.“ People did not make appointments or make their requests during business hours. They inconveniently intersected Christ as He continually strove toward the cross. In addition, Christ’s days were often so full that He could only find to commune with His Father when His own weary body would have screamed for sleep. But despite how inconvenient it was, He chose to spend the night talking with His Father.

Once they decided to follow Jesus, the disciples lived inconvenient lives. They had to leave the familiarity of their families, jobs, and communities and go where it would have been most inconvenient for them to go. Peter eventually went to Rome, where he was crucified upside down for preaching the Gospel. The Apostle Paul was inconvenienced throughout his preaching ministry when he was repeatedly imprisoned as he traveled across Europe.

The early followers of Christ gladly embraced the inconvenience of serving and following Christ, and two thousand years later, we have to ask ourselves a question: are we willing to be inconvenienced to follow Jesus?

Discussion Questions:

1. How do we deal with feelings of inconvenience and inadequacy when God uses us? What is your reaction?
2. God plans unexpected needs to arise at inconvenient times in our lives to invite us to trust and depend on Him. Agree or disagree or why?
3. When personal inconvenience is the backdrop to your willingness and love, the character of Christ shines that much brighter through you.