Luke 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, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 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 a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Nobody said that the discipleship life would be easy.
As far as I can tell from the gospels, a disciple is essentially one who follows Jesus, who tries to do what Jesus did, live like Jesus did, work for the kingdom as Jesus did, and be willing to sacrifice out of love as Jesus did.
Which I gather means experiencing some of the same stuff Jesus did. Loneliness, disappointment, betrayal, suffering.
No wonder there are all kinds of good reasons to put off following Jesus! I need to bury my father; I need to say goodbye to my family; I am just a few years away from making partner; right now I need to study for my SATs; first I want to get married; maybe when the kids are a little older; now that I’m retired there are a few things on my bucket list I’d like to check off first…. And the list goes on.
Truth be told, there is no particularly good time to start following Jesus. You just do…or you don’t. You can’t, as Jesus says, plow a very straight line if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder. You might as well not plow at all.
I actually don’t think Jesus means that last line as a threat – about being “fit for the kingdom” – but more as a description. The other way to translate “fit” is “useful.” You won’t be useful in the kingdom if you’re really not sure you want to be there.
Some things you can dip your toe into first to test the waters – hot air ballooning, swimming, baby-sitting, dating. And some things you can’t – sky diving, cliff diving, marriage, parenthood. You’re in or you’re not. But there’s no half-way.
It seems like Jesus is saying discipleship is like that, too. We’re disciples…or we’re not. But there’s no half-way. And because there will never be a right time to start, there’s no better time than to start than right now.
Prayer: Dear God, give us the courage to follow you. Now. Completely. No excuses. No looking back. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: Aksel Waldemar Johannessen, “Plowing in the Spring”
Well said. I recently started doing youth ministry in a new city, and I feel like I am participating in some of that loneliness Christ speaks about. Thank you for the good word.