Put away Plan B

I once had someone ask me what it took to answer the call to be a minister. Of course this person knew the basic stuff, i.e. accept Jesus as your savior, believe He was raised from the dead, confess him as your Lord, etc. My response was just one phrase, “Get rid of plan B.”

The world always reminds us that we need to have an alternate plan in place if we want to succeed. If we want to be successful at our job, pour everything we can into it, but be ready to go a different direction if that doesn’t work out. If you go to school, major is something, but then minor in something else in case your dream doesn’t work out.

It’s that “in case” that gets in the way of following Christ. If you truly want to follow Christ, you must be willing to get rid of every safety net and every alternative plan. Following Christ is an all or nothing endeavor.

We have a couple of instances that Jesus addressed this; John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life” Matthew 19:16-29, the rich young ruler, Luke 9:57-62, “no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In other words, it’s God’s way or no way.

I know, this flies in the face of all we are taught by the world. We are taught to prepare for multiple outcomes. We are taught to be ready and flexible in our goals. We try to prepare for obstacles. But when it comes to following Christ, there is only one way.

But lest you think there is nothing for you to do, think again. We must be in a constant state of preparedness for the Kingdom. This means prayer, Bible study, worship, sacraments, holy gatherings and holy conversation. While we must get rid of Plan B, we must also pour everything we have into the journey we are going on. This means preparing our bodies, minds and spirits for the journey ahead.

What about you? Are you prepared to follow Christ to the cross? For Christ there was only one journey and that lead to a cross and then an empty tomb. Is that a journey you are willing to make? I hope so, because that is the journey, we are called to make.

Christ is not a way to Heaven; He is the only way. The only way to follow Him is all the way. We cannot be double minded in our journey. We cannot look back at what could have been. We can only look forward to the Cross.

We are called to follow Christ, but to follow Him we must be single minded, not divided. As we celebrate this Easter Season, I pray that you can set your Plan B aside and take up the Cross for Christ.

Something to think about.

Shalom my friends.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.