Put on your most sturdy shoes and start walking, no money, no extra clothes, nothing but what you are wearing and go, and keep going for three and a half years.
We do not give that a lot of thought as we most generally sit in our houses and apartments, we have a key, the rent is paid, the furniture is comfortable, and we still complain, not always, but enough. Jesus was, and still is, fully man and fully God, but it is difficult for us to imagine Him never complaining, at least about these things. Did He ever complain, well, there was a dead fig tree, (Matt. 21:18-19) there was the time when He was fast asleep and got woke up just because of a “little” storm, (Matt. 8:23-26) I do not believe a lot of thoughts of compassion and love were going through His mind as He sat there and made a whip, (John 2:15) at least not loving thoughts towards those who were defiling His Father’s house at the moment.
But I don’t know about when He and His disciples were walking in an isolated place, still miles from where they were going and it started to pour rain from the sky, or when it was cold out and there was no place to sleep but out in the open on the cold, hard ground. I would complain. I have slept every night for the last decade, save for a few trips to the hospital, on a warm, comfortable bed with a pillow under my head, I have not had to sleep outdoors unprotected from the elements, “And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)
He had no money, even when He wanted to make a point about what belonged to God and what belonged to Caesar, (Luke 20:25) so to speak, our Lord had to borrow a coin, and then I am sure He gave it back. Always and completely relying upon the Father for everything, owning nothing save for the clothes on His back.
I could be mistaken, but I believe that one of the reasons that the Lord did not have a house, a home base if you will, is because the lost will not come to us unless they want something, we need to go to them. If He would have had a place, I am sure that He would have been known as nothing more than a wise physician, and until every single person for as far as words could reach darkened His doorway, that is all He ever would have been known as.
There were for quite sometime a lot of people following Christ around the countryside, and I have wondered, how many of them looked up after a while, saw that they were getting a little too far from their homes, and decided it was time to go back. And how many forgot they had a home, how many and for how long followed Him forsaking all, trusting in Him to provide every need every day.
I do not know any Christians like that, that is not to say that they are not out there, but I have never personally met one of them. No home, no extra clothes, no money, no one to rely on but the Father. Walk, talk, eat, sleep, repeat, for three and a half years. Here is the question for you, do you have what you want, or do you have all you need.
All those things that most of us surround ourselves with, if He asks you to, could you get up, right now, put your sturdiest shoes on and just start walking, and could you do so with nothing more than the desire to glorify His name, could you do so without looking back, without ill feelings towards Him, without question or hesitation. It is not what we believe we own, it is the value we place upon those things, it is the convenience they offer to us that can keep us in bondage to them. Wherever He leads us, we must be willing to follow. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
