Day 39: Follow The Leader

Luke 9:57-62

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

 ⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
 ⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”
   But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
 ⁶⁰ Jesus 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 goodbye to my family.”
 ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”


At first glance, this seems to top the list of "hard sayings of Jesus". I had a hard time as a child with the "first let me go and bury my father" saying. Pretty harsh, right? I imagined having to just leave someone dead, cold, all alone, without even the common decency of a burial. As I grew older, though, I learned a few things. First, this is probably not referring to a literal burial. What this guy is more likely saying is, Lord, let me wait until my parents die, and then I'll do what you ask. And we all know what happens when we say, I'll do this in a few months, or a few years... we almost never do it. You hear it all the time. One day I'm going to learn to play piano. I'm going to lose weight... after the holidays. And our excuses build up until there are no tomorrows left. Second, Jesus is not encouraging us to abandon our families or turn into heartless automatons. He's making a point, and making it as clear as he can possibly make it.


And that point is that our salvation, and the salvation of others, is imperative. It's important. Top priority. And there is a deadline. The cold truth is that once someone is dead, we can't do anything else for them. But we still have the opportunity to be saved - and to lead others to be saved. NOW. We are not promised tomorrow to do it. And if we don't do it, no one will.


Our words mean very little, really. We can SAY that we are followers of Christ, but unless we're prepared to make the hard decisions, we're only fooling ourselves. I have no idea what it is that you will have to give up for the cause. I'm sure I don't yet know everything I will have to give up, but I know what I've had to give up so far. Some things have been painful - bring you to your knees kind of painful. But on your knees is invariably where your relationship with God will reach a deeper level than you've ever experienced before. And it was so worth it.


It's worth everything.