"Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."" ~Luke 9:62
In Disney's animated film Meet the Robinsons, the titular family's motto is "Keep moving forward." According to numerous examples throughout Scripture, that should be our slogan, too. In this passage, many people are coming to Jesus, asking to follow Him...but they have a few things to do first.
This is an instance where history repeats itself because Elisha asked the same thing of Elijah in the book of 1 Kings before he left home to become his disciple.
It's not that Jesus is callous, figuring their duties unimportant; his wonder is whether they are more critical. Being a disciple of Christ is so serious that "if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Wow, that does sound heartless doesn't it? How could Jesus say that? Obviously, the God of love is not commanding us to hate our loved ones or ourselves. He's calling our attention to how those relationships can hinder us, even prevent us, from following Him.
Family dynamics and even our own self-importance are a hindrance to being fully dedicated to God's Kingdom because our loyalty is to our own tangible flesh and blood.
These words of Jesus are some of the hardest to hear. While it is easier to ignore them, doing so is detrimental to our relationship with the One who died for us and impairs the role we are created to realize.
Why are you holding back and not moving forward? Take time to specifically pray on this.
Always improve the present moment.
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