No Turning Back – Luke 9
“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
Jesus is looking for people to follow, but those who do so must be willing to deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and be willing to lose their lives for His sake (9:23-25).
The idea of following Jesus may appeal to us, but the cost of following Jesus is something that we often underestimate.
In Luke 9:57-62, we read of several men who intended to follow Jesus. One said He would follow Jesus wherever He went, but then Jesus pointed out that He didn’t even somewhere to sleep. Another was invited to follow Jesus, but this man wanted to bury his father first. Then another said he would follow Jesus but he wanted to say goodbye to his family first.
Each man had some reason why they needed to delay in following Jesus. They intended to but they just allowed other priorities to come before following Jesus.
How often we fall into the same trap. We intend to do what He wants but we aren’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary. We make excuses. We delay. We try to please others. And we end up looking back and, as Jesus puts it, are not “fit for the kingdom of God.”
The only way to be a disciple of Christ is to deny ourselves and be willing to die to our plans and desires so we can live to Christ and His plans.