Following Jesus from the Heart, Not Just Going Through the Motions

Hey, carpool crew, I'm Pastor Justin. I'm so glad you're with us today. This month we're looking at questions people ask Jesus, and today's question is a tough one. Someone asked, are only a few people going to be saved? That's from Luke, chapter 13, verse 23. I wanna set the scene real quick. Jesus was walking and teaching, and crowds were following him everywhere he went. One person in the crowd asked this question, not just to get an answer, but maybe to figure out, am I in or am I out? Who makes the cut when it comes to getting to heaven? People back then were wondering, is heaven just for the super religious, the perfect people who make all the right decisions, the rich, maybe just a lucky few, or people who look or act a certain way? And Jesus didn't answer with a number. He actually flipped the question. He basically said, don't worry about how many. Ask yourself, are you following me? See, the one thing I want you to remember for the ride today is Jesus wants everyone to follow him. He told them to make every effort to enter through the narrow door, which meant don't assume you're automatically in just because you look the part, or you go to church a lot, just because you know a bunch of worship songs or have your own Bible. Jesus was saying, this is about your heart. This is about having a relationship with me. Jesus wanted people to have a relationship with him, to talk to him regularly. That's praying, to ask him what he thinks, that's looking for Jesus's guidance in your life. See, Emma was at school and noticed her group of friends weren't letting a new girl sit with them at lunch. One of her friends said, she's probably not a church kid like us anyway. That made Emma pause. She thought about how Jesus welcomes everyone no matter who they are and how he doesn't want us to act like we're better than anyone else. So Emma scooted over and said, hey, come sit with me. We all have moments like this where we take a step back or pause and ask ourselves, am I really following Jesus with my heart or just going through the motions with my actions? See, if we're following Jesus with our heart, then it's gonna influence the things that we do and how we treat people. If we're just going through the motions, then we wanna make sure everyone sees what we're doing, but we really don't wanna be like Jesus. We really like being ourselves. We like doing the things we do, treating people the way we want, not the way he would want. And we always have a reason why it's okay for us to act that way. And usually it's because we go to church, we have a Bible, we know some Bible verses, but we have a hard time applying those verses and acting like Jesus would want us to. See, Jesus wants everyone to follow him. Everyone, that includes you, your friends, your neighbors who don't go to church. So this week, be someone who invites someone else to church. Think about who you might invite to church this next weekend. Maybe go to someone and ask how you could pray for them. And definitely, when you have the chance to include someone or encourage someone, do it, because that's what Jesus would want you to do, and that's what he would do if he were there. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Parents, if you love today's podcast, share it with the kids' pastor at your church. We love being a resource to churches and families all over the country. Before you go, answer this question together: do I ever treat faith like a club for a few people instead of an invitation for everyone? Thanks for riding with me today. Can't wait to tackle the next big question tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.