"And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:61-62
This is an interesting lesson as well. Yesterday we talked about faith, and a few days ago we talked about commitment. This seems to encompass both. In this chapter Christ talks to a couple of different people who want to take care of something before they follow him... one wants time to bury his father, one (above) wants to say goodbye to his family. These are good examples because they seem reasonable to us... why wouldn't someone be allowed to wrap up loose ends? :)
I can't say for sure, of course, but it seems to me that God prepares us adequately for everything way, way ahead of time. So, when he calls, there really shouldn't be anything that we have to wrap up. everything in our lives prepares us for something else in our life, later on... and we keep learning more and more and getting more and more ready for our big tests. So, yes... we still panic when they come, and we try to stall saying that we have to wrap this or that up... but really, we are ready to make whatever commitment that God asks of us, when he asks it.
Sometimes commitment takes a lot of faith... as with the person in this scripture. He (or she) wanted to say goodbye to everyone at home... perhaps make sure things were okay. It's hard to have faith that everything will be okay as we serve the Lord, or to be sure that God has already made the provisions, and taken care of the farewells. And maybe he hasn't taken care of everything that we would choose to take care of. However, I would say that our families are a lot better off when God is taking care of them for us then we are in direct control.
As for putting hand to the plow and looking back... again, commitment and faith. We have to be committed to going forward and not turning back all the time... just like Luke 17:32, Remember Lot's wife. Whatever field the Lord wants us to work, it will only get done if we concentrate on it, and trust that God will take care of the things that we can't control.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:61-62
This is an interesting lesson as well. Yesterday we talked about faith, and a few days ago we talked about commitment. This seems to encompass both. In this chapter Christ talks to a couple of different people who want to take care of something before they follow him... one wants time to bury his father, one (above) wants to say goodbye to his family. These are good examples because they seem reasonable to us... why wouldn't someone be allowed to wrap up loose ends? :)
I can't say for sure, of course, but it seems to me that God prepares us adequately for everything way, way ahead of time. So, when he calls, there really shouldn't be anything that we have to wrap up. everything in our lives prepares us for something else in our life, later on... and we keep learning more and more and getting more and more ready for our big tests. So, yes... we still panic when they come, and we try to stall saying that we have to wrap this or that up... but really, we are ready to make whatever commitment that God asks of us, when he asks it.
Sometimes commitment takes a lot of faith... as with the person in this scripture. He (or she) wanted to say goodbye to everyone at home... perhaps make sure things were okay. It's hard to have faith that everything will be okay as we serve the Lord, or to be sure that God has already made the provisions, and taken care of the farewells. And maybe he hasn't taken care of everything that we would choose to take care of. However, I would say that our families are a lot better off when God is taking care of them for us then we are in direct control.
As for putting hand to the plow and looking back... again, commitment and faith. We have to be committed to going forward and not turning back all the time... just like Luke 17:32, Remember Lot's wife. Whatever field the Lord wants us to work, it will only get done if we concentrate on it, and trust that God will take care of the things that we can't control.
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