Good-byes

Good-Byes

Luke 9:61-62, NIV

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Setting the Scene

Of the four Gospel writers, only Luke includes this third brief encounter. Compared with the previous delay of waiting to bury a parent, the postponement for farewells seems reasonable. However, it is clear that this person’s conditional “but first” undermines the seriousness of his commitment.

Jesus never said, “If you follow me, you can’t say good-bye to loved ones and you can’t bury them when they die.” In fact, Jesus elsewhere made it a point that a serious disciple counts the cost before he or she decides to follow (see Luke 14:25-33). Jesus certainly cared for his loved ones and attended a funeral or two.

Jesus was objecting to the built-in exception that allowed someone to claim discipleship while pursuing other priorities. In this case, if the good-byes are not a delaying tactic, get them over with and then follow. Following Jesus reorients all other priorities. There is no parallel life for a disciple. Every decision is made based on the deeper commitment to Christ. Saying good-bye to or burying parents are not forbidden; instead, they become actions done only as they are consistent with following Jesus, which is now the guiding principle.

Jesus’ response requires that we understand a practical matter in plowing, a task which cannot be accomplished while looking over one’s shoulder. A straight furrow depends on the farmer keeping a fixed point on the far side of the field in sight. Otherwise, the plow wanders. Serving in the Kingdom of God is like plowing; it cannot be done effectively with our attention distracted by other things we treat as first in our lives.

Getting Personal

What choices or decisions have you deliberately made “against the grain” simply because of the deeper priority of the Kingdom of God in your life?

What makes you a true disciple even though you are not a full-time teacher, preacher, or evangelist?

When we allow people or circumstances to overrule our decision to follow Christ, our lives take on the look of a field that has been plowed by a distracted farmer. The results are a confusion of conflicting priorities.

Talking to God

Tell the Father that he is Lord of your life. Ask him to fix himself as your unmoving objective, so that everything else can fall into place as he allows it.