Wholly His

Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests,

 but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 

Matthew 8:19-20

Jesus never promised His followers an easy time. Here we find a scribe seemingly eager to follow the Lord. Yet Jesus doesn't say, "Great! Let's go." No, He responds with a poignant statement about the cost of following Him. Jesus never promised an easy time to those who became His disciples, but He did promise them that He would be with them through every hardship. And that in the end they would have the joy of eternity with Him. "You know how it is with some. They want to make up a good number and to report that so many have been converted and so many have joined the Church. Oh, that desire after big figures! What mistakes and misery it leads some people into! But Jesus does not want to count this man unless he is one who can be rightly counted as really made His follower—so He speaks to him discouragingly and testingly. He tries and tests him—and the man goes his way. The Lord Jesus Christ does not ask you to become His follower unless you mean to be wholly His! Body, soul and spirit—through and through, out and out! You must be His, or else you cannot be a follower of Christ at all. Hear that and remember it well." (Spurgeon)