Then He said to another, "Follow
Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and
preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will
follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my
house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plough,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9.59-62
Not everyone was so quick to forsake everything and follow
Jesus. When Jesus said ‘follow me’ to others one replied ‘Let me go bury my
dead father first.’ Another said ‘I will follow You, but I need to go say
goodbye first.’
We might think that this is to be expected. These are
reasonable request. What could be wrong
with going to your father’s funeral or saying goodbye to your family?
I don’t think that is the point. Jesus knew their hearts. He
knew that these were more excuses than reasons. He knew these people had a ‘I
will follow You but…’ attitude.’
Those who have this kind of attitude are always going to be
able to find another ‘but’ in their discipleship. ‘I am going to get back to
church, but first I need to sort a few things out.’ ‘I am going to tell my
family about Jesus, but I need a little more time to show how my life is
different.’ ‘I will start giving to my local church, but first I need to get
buy these few things I really need.’
There really are no ‘buts’ in discipleship. Either we follow
or we don’t. We have to decide if we are going to follow the world or follow
Christ. If we try to follow both we are going to get frustrated and confused.
How many of us can truly say ‘I have decided to follow
Jesus, no turning back, no ifs, ands, or buts.’
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