Follow Me

Lk. 9:57-62

"As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

How easy it is to say, I will follow You wherever You go, but how hard it is to mean those words! Why is this? Why is human commitment so lack luster? First Jesus explained that He had no home, and often His followers would have no home as well. No nest! That in itself is hard for people who love to nest and gather possessions. They want roots, lands, and possessions, things which tie them to this earth. So if the choice involves that fundamental nesting instinct, these followers bail. What is my heart toward my possessions, toward my home? Has it divided my heart's focus?

Then Jesus gave the example of the man who was called but first had to go bury his father. Sounds reasonable! Who wouldn't be excused for such a request? But Jesus said to let the dead bury their dead: instead, preach the kingdom. How hard and even unfeeling this seems! Does Jesus desire His followers to give up their ties to family and family concerns? Yes, He must supersede all. Perhaps in this one act of burial, Jesus was revealing the true priorities of the heart. Could it be that family was god and had taken the allegiance away from Jesus?  His followers must live not for this world but the world to come. What is my heart? Where is my allegiance? Is Jesus first?

Then Jesus' third example is the man who merely wanted to say goodbye to family. Sounds reasonable! But Jesus called that putting his hand to the plow and then looking back. Was this goodbye a veiled longing for the  world? It reminds me of Lot's wife. She looked back perhaps just to say goodbye, but God turned her into a pillar of salt. He knows the heart. What is really going on when the goodbyes are said? Is my heart united to His?

The conclusion is: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Any divided loyalty, no matter how good and moral it seems, makes that person unfit for the kingdom of God. How strong are these words! No wonder that in that day Jesus will have to say, depart from me I never knew you. Do we really know, love, and serve Jesus? What is my heart like? Am I willingly following His call?

Father,
Help me to follow wholeheartedly. Reveal what is in my heart, and give my Your strength to confess and repent. Teach me to honor Jesus as holy in all areas of my heart.
In Jesus name,
Amen