No Exception Clause

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below — You who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.”
-1 Kings 8:23-

I saw a report on Fox News about a group of new vegetarians. They interviewed one of them, a 28-year old woman. One of her quotes captures the viewpoint of the group: “I usually eat vegetarian. But I really like sausage.” She represents a growing number of people who eat vegetarian but make some exceptions. They don’t eat meat, unless they really like it. As you might imagine, the real vegetarians aren’t real happy about the new vegetarians. They put pressure on the new group to change their name. And so, here’s the name they chose for themselves: flexetarians. As I watched the report, I realized something: I am a flexetarian! I absolutely refuse to eat meat, unless it’s being served! The young woman on Fox News explained it this way: “I really like vegetarian food, but I’m just not 100% committed.”
A lot of people follow Jesus this way. They compartmentalize the areas of their lives they don’t want Him to have access to. They try to negotiate the terms of the deal: “I’ll follow Jesus, but I’m not going to sell my possessions. Don’t ask me to forgive the people who hurt me; they don’t deserve that. Don’t ask me to save sex for marriage; I just can’t help my desires. Don’t ask me to give a percentage of my money; I worked hard for that. I really like Jesus, but I’m just not 100% committed.” They call themselves Christians. They follow Jesus, but they’ve made some exceptions.
But following Jesus requires a complete and total commitment. Jesus never left open the option of selective commitment. He allows no exception clauses. You don’t get to say, “I will follow Jesus — except in this area of my life, where I will do things my way.” You can’t treat the call of Christ like a spiritual all-you-can-eat buffet, picking and choosing as you go through the line. There is no such thing as a flexetarian when it comes to faith. If you call yourself a Christian, by definition, you are committing yourself to follow Jesus in every area of your life.

Following Today
Honestly evaluate your commitment to Christ. Do any areas of your life come to mind where you have withheld complete commitment? Have you inserted an exception clause that shouldn’t be there? What will you do about it?