In this brief and seemingly harsh
passage, Jesus proclaims that following in his footsteps can be difficult and
demanding.
Jesus encounters three individuals
who express a desire to follow Him, but have unfinished business to attend to
first. Jesus responds by explaining that
other matters must be put aside and the first priority given to discipleship.
There may be some hyperbole when
Jesus responds to their excuses by saying let the dead bury the dead (maybe a
reference to the spiritual dead) and once the hand is laid on the plow you must
not look back. Hyperbole or not, the
message then and now is that following Jesus is an unwavering and constant
dedication.
You may have experienced in
gardening that if you look back the row that is being plowed may become
crooked. Plowing for Jesus may be
demanding, but the harvest is really something!
Prayer: Oh God, help us to realize that following you
can be difficult when we are distracted by side issues. May we give our best effort to always put
discipleship first. We pray that the
furrow we plow follows a straight path behind you, and may our crop yield a
bounty of righteousness. Amen.
Warren
Davenport
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