What must I do to follow Jesus?

It's always interesting to see how Jesus responds differently to similar concerns/questions--like for example, about how we should follow Him. The responses are different because He knows our weaknesses, our idols, what we need, what we need to hear, etc.. And the end goal is for us to follow Jesus with all our mind/heart/strength, in sincerity, giving up everything else and not looking back.

To the rich young ruler, He said to sell everything, give to the poor, and then come follow Him.

To a scribe eager to follow Him, Jesus said "foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no place to rest His head".

To another, Jesus said "let the dead bury the dead, but you go proclaim the Kingdom of God"

To a man who wanted to say goodbye to his family, Jesus said "No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God"[luke 9]

To the crowds traveling with Him, He said "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his mother and father, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple".

"Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." [luke 14]

These verses all remind me of this one about prayer:

"But when he asks he must not doubt, because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." [James 1].

I always felt like these verses in James were very strong. Because I think most people do that--they pray half-heartedly when it comes to things that are "less likely" to be given. Or, what most people do instead is they only ask for 'little' things, because they fear they will be "disappointed" by God when they ask for something greater and it isn't given. And then they say that they don't want to "bother" God by asking for bigger things, or that they are not that important, or that they assume it is not God's will to do anything super miraculous through prayer. Dude, this is our Father. He desires to give good gifts to us. It IS His will to give us good gifts. Do we doubt that?

There is such an emphasis in the bible on whole-heartedly following God. It is a single-minded focus; you must give up everything else; you cannot serve two gods. You cannot look back; you cannot hold onto traditions, family, homes, familiarity, etc. Not to say you can't have traditions, or a family, or a home, but the gist of what Jesus is trying to convey is following Him with all your mind, heart and strength, and not allowing any heart-tuggers to latch onto your heart while you follow Jesus.

"And He said to them: Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you and still more will be added to you. For the one who has, more will be given and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away" Mark4:24-25

So it's like the more we seek the truth, the more we will find the truth; the more we obey His word, the more of His will/revelation will be given to us.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:13

----

So the question for me is what do I still need to give up to follow Jesus? What is taking my heart from the Lord? And sometimes it's not any particular concrete thing; it's just my focus. I find that the more I focus on God, the more I am able to love other people--in a way that is real and unconditional; the more I focus on God, the more I am able to love people without fearing that they will (one day) reject or leave/ignore me.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor death, neither anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord ~Romans 8

God is mine, and I am His. Forever.

I like long-term relationships/friendships. But what's better is forever relationships.

--But sometimes it's hard to shift our focus to God by ourselves. Sometimes it really helps when other brothers/sisters listen to what we are currently focusing on/struggling with, and then redirect us to God. That's what the family of Christ is here for; we are united as one, as Jesus is one with the Father.