No time to waste
He said to another man, "Follow me." But that man said, "Sir, first let me go back and bury my father." Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." Someone else said, "I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family." Jesus said to him, "Anyone who starts to plough and then keeps looking back is of no use to the Kingdom of God." Luke 9 : 59 - 62 (GNB) |
In this week's passage we see a comparison between the priorities that Jesus had and the people he met. We see how easily we can let other things distract us from what Jesus wants us to do. Ultimately our passage today is talking about procrastination, the art of avoiding the task you are meant to be doing by filling your time with less important things.
Here we see Jesus asking two different men to do a simple task, to simply follow him. On neither occasion does it say that the men refused to go with him. However in both cases the men wanted to do something else first.
The excuses that the men give seem pretty reasonable on the face of it. The first wanted to bury his dead Dad, the other to say goodbye to his family. So why was Jesus so insistent that they drop everything and go now. We'll it all comes down to priorities, what we think is more important, God or something else.
Looking at this passage with hindsight it is very easy for us to judge these men, and wonder why they would possibly argue with Jesus. However what we need to do is put ourselves into their shoes.
What would you do if God told you to drop everything and do something for him? Would you be able to, or would there be some loose ends that you would want to tidy up or goodbyes that you would want to say?
We see that in this passage in order to trust God it might involve us needing to make some tough decisions, and take a risk in order to follow him. Is there something that God has put on your mind that you have been trying to put off? Do you keep on trying to convince yourself that you are too busy to do what he has planned for you. Maybe this week is time for a reshuffle, putting God's plan on top. Have a great week.
This week's song is In the river by Jesus Culture. |
Header image by: Rennett Stowe via Flickr