“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
It seems these days that the lives of many people are filled with a lot of activity. So many things demand so much of our time, talent, and energy: jobs, kids, family, home, leisure, hobbies, political and social causes, and so on. While it is true that many of these pursuits are important, they often take priority over the demands of the Kingdom of God. We neglect worship, prayer, fellowship, outreach, and Bible study in favor of whatever demands our attention most, affirms us, or makes us comfortable. And certainly, as we see here in Luke 9, the words of Jesus and the demands He makes on us do not always make us comfortable nor do they affirm us in our chosen activities and lifestyles.
Jesus spoke these words to people who claimed to want to follow Him, but who were not entirely convinced of who He was. They saw that He was performing many mighty miracles and casting out demons which demonstrated that He had divine wisdom and authority. Perhaps they wanted to follow Him just because of the miracles and healings or the fame they would achieve by just being associated with Him. Or maybe they felt they could earn favor with God by being part of Jesus’ entourage. In any case, they words they spoke showed that although they were attracted to Jesus, other things were more important.
The truth we learn from the Word of God is that Jesus is the only hope for the world. Consequently, what people believe about Him divides humanity. Jesus Himself indicated that there is no way to serve Him halfway. Those who say they believe in Him must believe that He is Lord God and Savior, that is, our sin bearer. They must dedicate their lives to Him and be willing to live for Him, not for self, to make all other pursuits secondary to carrying out the demands and demonstrating the love of God. Those who reject Jesus or what He has said even just in part really cannot call themselves Christians. To deny the words of Jesus or to say that He is just a part of our lives, is to call Him a liar. Jesus revealed Himself as both Lord God and savior so that no one can say He was just a good man, just a good philosopher with ideas and thoughts on a par with other thinkers and philosophers. And if we accept the revelation of Christ then we must follow Him and walk by faith in obedience to what He has commanded us to do. There are no compromises or other options.