Hand to the Plow – by Mary Pena
How often do we tell Jesus we are going to follow Him, but first we need to…(insert whatever it is you want to do first). Clearly this has been happening forever and Jesus addresses it in Luke 9.
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
I love Jesus’ response. It’s not always the response I want to hear, but He knows us! He knows that we can be selfish. He knows that we can put our own ideas and wants and desires in front of Him…so he addresses it by saying, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Farming is hard work. Plowing is hard work. It’s the constant forward motion of the plow that works the field and produces a harvest. The farmer knows that keeping his hand on the plow and staying focused reaps the reward, and so did Jesus. But in His goodness, He gave us this scripture as a reminder. So friend, keep your hand on the plow and stay focused on Jesus and (Gal 6:9) let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Be encouraged.
By Mary Pena