And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
– Luke 9:61-62
People were healed, demons were cast out, and the wind and the waves had obeyed this man. He was Jesus – fully God and fully man, and He was acquiring quite a following of people. While Jesus was traveling, three different people all told Jesus that they wanted to follow Him. One person told Jesus he would follow Him. Jesus answered him about the cost and sacrifice of the ministry. Jesus told another person to follow Him, and he wanted to first bury his father. Then another said he would follow Jesus if he could just say goodbye to those at his house. To the man who wanted to say goodbye, Jesus responded, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
That seems a little extreme, don’t you think? Surely someone could go bury their father or say goodbye to their family before following Jesus…
This man was ready to follow Jesus, or so he thought. He just had one hang-up. He wanted to say good-bye and spend one last moment with the people and things he loved before he let go. He was ready to follow the Son of God, but he was not whole-heartedly committed. He was still holding on, and did not understand the urgency of the time. This guy probably thought that Jesus would be teaching for decades to come. Jesus, however, knew the urgency of teaching the Kingdom of God to His disciples. He only had three years of ministry. At this point, most believe He only had around 6-9 months left before His death.
There are many areas in our lives that we are not willing to let go of. We might not call a friend that is a bad influence anymore, but the number is still in our phone. We might commit to God not to watch PG-13 or R rated movies, but we still own them. We just don’t watch them.
Some of us are willing to let go, but we want to at least say goodbye. We want to turn around and say goodbye just one more time before we give it to God. We want to go hang out with that friend or flirt with that boy/girl one more time before we decide we are going to live holy. The classic line that I hear so often when people say they are fasting but decide they would rather eat is “Oh well. I was fasting, but I guess I will just start tomorrow.” We commit, but when our commitment is no longer convenient to our own lives and agendas, we’ll stick a “but” in our commitment and excuse our way out of it.
“Lord, I will follow you, but I like my ungodly friends too much to give them up.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but I really want to go to this party tonight. I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but my life is just too busy right now to focus on you.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but …”
We don’t know the urgency. There isn’t much time. Jesus is coming back soon, and you could die tomorrow. No one is promised tomorrow. Live your life wisely. Forsake all to follow him. If giving up that one area of your life would make you fit for the Kingdom of God, would you do it? If giving up one area of your life would put you a little closer to the Father, would you do it?
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
– Luke 14:33
Give it up. Don’t look back. Don’t hang on to it in case you change your mind. Make up your mind not to change your mind. Don’t plan on backsliding. Commit and obey. John 14 says we show our love to the Father through our obedience. Forsake the things of this world, and go after God.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
– Hebrews 12:1
– Luke 9:61-62
People were healed, demons were cast out, and the wind and the waves had obeyed this man. He was Jesus – fully God and fully man, and He was acquiring quite a following of people. While Jesus was traveling, three different people all told Jesus that they wanted to follow Him. One person told Jesus he would follow Him. Jesus answered him about the cost and sacrifice of the ministry. Jesus told another person to follow Him, and he wanted to first bury his father. Then another said he would follow Jesus if he could just say goodbye to those at his house. To the man who wanted to say goodbye, Jesus responded, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
That seems a little extreme, don’t you think? Surely someone could go bury their father or say goodbye to their family before following Jesus…
This man was ready to follow Jesus, or so he thought. He just had one hang-up. He wanted to say good-bye and spend one last moment with the people and things he loved before he let go. He was ready to follow the Son of God, but he was not whole-heartedly committed. He was still holding on, and did not understand the urgency of the time. This guy probably thought that Jesus would be teaching for decades to come. Jesus, however, knew the urgency of teaching the Kingdom of God to His disciples. He only had three years of ministry. At this point, most believe He only had around 6-9 months left before His death.
There are many areas in our lives that we are not willing to let go of. We might not call a friend that is a bad influence anymore, but the number is still in our phone. We might commit to God not to watch PG-13 or R rated movies, but we still own them. We just don’t watch them.
Some of us are willing to let go, but we want to at least say goodbye. We want to turn around and say goodbye just one more time before we give it to God. We want to go hang out with that friend or flirt with that boy/girl one more time before we decide we are going to live holy. The classic line that I hear so often when people say they are fasting but decide they would rather eat is “Oh well. I was fasting, but I guess I will just start tomorrow.” We commit, but when our commitment is no longer convenient to our own lives and agendas, we’ll stick a “but” in our commitment and excuse our way out of it.
“Lord, I will follow you, but I like my ungodly friends too much to give them up.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but I really want to go to this party tonight. I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but my life is just too busy right now to focus on you.”
“Lord, I will follow you, but …”
We don’t know the urgency. There isn’t much time. Jesus is coming back soon, and you could die tomorrow. No one is promised tomorrow. Live your life wisely. Forsake all to follow him. If giving up that one area of your life would make you fit for the Kingdom of God, would you do it? If giving up one area of your life would put you a little closer to the Father, would you do it?
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
– Luke 14:33
Give it up. Don’t look back. Don’t hang on to it in case you change your mind. Make up your mind not to change your mind. Don’t plan on backsliding. Commit and obey. John 14 says we show our love to the Father through our obedience. Forsake the things of this world, and go after God.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
– Hebrews 12:1
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