Luke 9: 57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
59He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
It is amazing that some preach, and many believe, that Christianity is the life of a Persian cat on a silk pillow.
Church, this is serious business. In these verses, Our Lord is headed to a confrontation with death in Jerusalem. and Jesus has no patience with frivolity. He was moved and strengthened by the Spirit. Forgive us, Lord, when we consider the Spirit a Santa Claus, whose purpose is to bring us brightly wrapped presents that we don’t deserve. He comes, rather, to equip us for serious business.
He comes to sanctify us, fortify us and motivate us to do work not to wallow in “blessings.” Service is the ultimate blessing.
These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. We think we deserve “prosperity” and “peace” when “. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
We are proud of ourselves when we put our family ahead of ourselves. But He calls us to put Him ahead of even immediate family. This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but . . .,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. For most of us our service to the Lord is, and remains, a future event, while the present is self-focused.
Like Jesus, our future is in death. We are called to die to self and family. We are to follow Jesus to “Jerusalem.” It’s time to stop talking about it and planning it. We need to start moving.
Move and be blessed.
Nick
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