And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
To another he said, "Follow me."
But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:57-62
At first glance, this passage seems almost random, falling as it did not long after He preached about taking up one's cross daily and directly after telling His disciples not to rebuke a man casting out demons in His name "...for the one who is not against you is for you." It almost seems like a rejection on Jesus' part, as if He were discouraging any new followers. At first glance...
But read what follows:
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Luke 10:1-2
Seventy-two others is not a tiny number. Granted, it is not many thousands, and it is but a fraction of the multitudes that He had recently fed and healed. It is not a number, however, that points to Him dissuading followers. It is still a telling number, indicating seventy-two out of the thousands milling about who were ready, dedicated, and willing to drop what they had going on and act promptly in faith and obedience. Seventy-two who were inclined to follow Him, not in theory or in the future, but at that moment when He appointed them and sent them out.
Apparently, then, these three brief stories of three potential disciples are not a rejection by the Lord, but rather His exposure of the hearts of those who proclaim a desire to follow Him even while armed with a reason to defer their commitment. Many who readily and eagerly voice their allegiance are found to be in actuality less than willing to follow the Lord on His terms.
We will all stand at this cusp at one point in our lives, this moment where on one hand we stay and hold fast to all that is normal and familiar to us and on the other the unknown Something that lies just out of sight down the road He has paused on to beckon to us. Then we are faced with the decision: Do we leave everything and go with Him as He commands, or do we try to negotiate, virtually attempting to stand our ground and follow Him at the same time. This is, of course, impossible, and so we find that we can summon many reasons, many viable obstacles to impede our taking of that first heady and alarming step toward Him. The reality is that there no reasons for not following the Lord when He calls; there are only excuses.
I have often been heard to tell my children, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." I know this because God has told me the same thing many times. I have been guilty of saying to Him, "But Lord, before I do what You ask, I first need to do ________."
It is no excuse. He has always answered simply, "Follow Me." There have been countless times when I was called to lay down some task or some hobby in order to follow Him. Judo comes to mind. I enjoyed my time on the mat, but my Lord said, "I have other plans for you. Leave that behind and come with Me."
At other times my house would be in disarray and I would be called upon to help another. "But Lord," I have questioned at such times, "Is it not poor stewardship to neglect the home You have given me?" And He would remind me that His call is larger than my home... and that He will pay for what He orders. Has my house gone through spells of being more dirty than I would prefer? Certainly. Have I had time to get it back in shape? Naturally. He has not called me to neglect stewardship, only to follow Him. He will sort the details out. And so, I am slowly learning not to look back but merely to plow the field He sets before me. And I am learning to trust the results to Him whether I ever see them or not. It is mine merely to follow. It is enough.
These excuses are pervasive as well as persuasive. How many of us would follow him, "but?"
But... I have my home to tend, my career to pursue, my hobbies that keep me sane.
But... I need to handle these family matters, perform to this person's standards, please this group of people.
But... I have not yet said my goodbyes, I am not yet ready to sever my link with my past life, I am not yet completely ready to go.
The same excuses that were given then are given now. I have given them, but He has always pointed out that where I saw explanation, He saw merely disbelief. When I rationalize my reasons for waiting to obey, in truth I am failing to see that His way is the correct way and that my view of each situation is fallible at best. We can always find a reason not go go where He sends us--there is no doubting that. The question is not whether our excuses are valid or whether our reasoning is legitimate. The real question here is this: Can we afford the delay?
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