Luke 9:57-62

Luke 9:57-62 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me." But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Do we look back sometimes and say, this Christian thing is just too hard for me? It seems as if I am always the one to be trampled on in life. Shouldn't I have the right to strike back, to destroy? Isn't that the just thing to do for a human? Can justice come any other way? The Bible says there will be wars and rumors of wars in the last days. Well, there have been wars and rumors of wars throughout the history of man. Cain struck down his brother Abel soon after Adam and Eve were shut out of the Garden of Eden. To fight, to strike back, is endemic in all of us because sin, hate, and bitterness embellish our souls rather than grace, love, and sacrifice. Even as Christians who know better, we sometimes desire to fight sin with sin, hurt with hurt. We want our pound of flesh, for it makes us feel better.

Yet Jesus says, But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. . . Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:27-28 & 31) How can we do this? Isn't life too much sometimes? Yes, life is too much sometimes, but in the above verses Jesus is calling you as a disciplined soldier with a mission to accomplish FOR GOD. You are not to look back, to retreat into the flesh. You are not to bury the dead; let the dead bury the dead. You are not to even to say good-by to your family. Sentimentality cannot get in the way of your mission for God. Nothing is more important in your life than your service to him. (WOW, DO I NEED GRACE WHEN I CONSIDER THOSE SCRIPTURES.)

I am sure most of us lack commitment to God. We want the good life, the loving family, the support systems of a culture such as burying the dead. But Jesus makes a point: nothing should come between God and his own. Nothing should be considered more important to us than following Christ. Most of us pray constantly for rest in our lives, a place to lay our heads. We pray to get out of this trouble or that circumstance. We pray God will solve everything concerning us. We want a place to lay our heads. But as a good commander says to his troops, Jesus says, "Keep on moving. This is not your place of rest. We have a mission to carry out."

Gideon could not go to war with the men who knelt to drink water. He took only those who lapped the water with their tongues because they were ready to move on. The latter men knew the mission was urgent; therefore, they did what they needed to do quickly. How many of us kneel to tarry here or there, taking life as easy as possible? Are we constantly looking for a better place to rest, incessantly asking God to make everything right and peaceful for us? Do we move on regardless of the cost, the unrest, and the angst of life? As the marines, God calls out "good men, good women," those who won't kneel to their own concerns and comforts, but who will seek the will of God in all situations and obey his voice.

How much we need his presence! How much we need his Spirit to keep urging us onward. We are sometimes like the children of Israel who became tired of hearing, dull in their minds, unwilling or unable to comprehend the still small voice of the Lord. Well, my Christian friend, let's move on today. Let's see over the next hill and the next. Each of us has a mission to carry out. There are words to say, smiles to give, and hearts to win for the Lord. Don't stand there discouraged, disheartened, unwilling. Listen to the tender voice of the Lord and then move out, for you are a soldier of great worth, chosen for the army of the Lord.