Scripture: Luke 13:31-35 (NIV)

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

On the forest moon of Endor, Luke Skywalker had to give Leia Organa some bad news. Not only was Darth Vader his (and her) father, but he was here on the moon. Luke knew that Vader had come to find him. Luke knew that he must confront Vader, to decide things once and for all. Leia had another idea: run away.

“If he can feel your presence then leave this place,” she told her brother. She wanted to keep him safe, she knew he was important both to her and to the Rebellion. However, even though he knew why Leia told him this, Luke wasn’t going to take her suggestion. He knew this confrontation really had to happen, that delaying it would only postpone what was going to eventually take place. He left her on the Ewok bridge, planning to surrender to the Empire.

Jesus had made plenty of enemies, both of the religious leaders and of the Roman government. His message of peace and of God’s kingdom didn’t really mesh with what those in power had in mind. They may have had different reasons for coming after Jesus–the religious leaders thought He was a heretic, the Romans thought He was leading a rebellion–but they were coming nonetheless. So when Jesus was walking right toward both of them, some that had concern for Him suggested He might want to head to a different spot, maybe hole up for a little while.

That wasn’t Jesus’s style nor did it advance the mission that He was on. He had come to lay down His life so He could pick it back up again. His sacrifice was going to make things better for the entire world should they accept it. So while He likely appreciated the sentiment of those that were trying to look out for Him, it wasn’t something that He could really entertain. The end of the road was going to be painful and brutal but it was a road that He had to walk. Besides, He held the true power, not those in authority on earth.

There will be times in our lives, most likely, when people suggest things that would seem to be in our best interest. Maybe we don’t need to raise a fuss over this issue. Maybe we could look past that questionable behavior. Taking a hard line on this or that isn’t really worth the hassle and the problems that would come with it, is it? Why go to church when you can sleep in, why stick to Christ when no one around you is?

We’ve got to ignore that advice, whether it is well-meaning or not, because it will interfere with our mission, the mission of following Jesus no matter what comes. When we turn our lives over to Christ, things might get a little harder here on earth but that’s a minor tradeoff compared to our eternal glory. Tell those old foxes in your lives that you are going to be a Christian always, even when the road is rough. How can we do anything less?