Back
when I was I was younger, Meatloaf came out with a hit song called I will Do Anything For Love But I won’t doThat. He sang about how much he would do for the
love of his life but He wouldn’t do that, no one seems to know what “that”
is. But we as Christians seem to do the
same thing, we say I’ll do anything to experience God, but I won’t do
that. We love to go around and talk
about how we are willing to do whatever God asks but then we say well all, but
that. I read a story about the Knights
Templar, when they were baptized they would hold there sword up in the air so
that it was not submerge under water.
This was symbolic in saying “God you have every part of my life, but
what I do out on the battlefield is not yours.
You cannot have control of my sword.”
We in many ways do the same, what are you unwilling to give up in life
for God, is it your computer, your children, the television or movies you
watch? In Luke Chapter nine we read a
conversation that Christ has with a couple of men; “He said to another person, “Come, be my
disciple”. The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and
bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let those who are spiritually dead care for
their own dead.* Your duty is to go and preach the
coming of the Kingdom of God.” Another
said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my
family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks
back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”(59-62)
Both
of these sound like good sound reasons, one man wants to bury his dad, but Christ tells him no, now is the time to
follow, not later. Why did Christ seem
so cold hearted? Because this man’s father was not dead or close to death. He wanted to wait to follow Christ, he was
putting his family before God. The other
man just wanted to say goodbye to his family and friends once again Christ
tells him no, you must follow me now.
Once again this seemed pretty reasonable, a simple goodbye, just a few
minutes and we are on our way, right? Wrong this is where knowing the culture
of this time comes in, when one went and said goodbye that meant several
parties are going to be thrown, this could take up to a month. But notice both men called Christ “Lord” the
same as a slave would call their master.
But neither truly treated Christ as their master, instead they treated
Him more as consulate, then their Lord. Larry Osborn points this out. ”
Now, a consultant is
someone whose wisdom we highly value and listen to, but at the end of the day,
we make the final decision. That’s why they’re called consultants. Here’s the
problem: God doesn’t do consulting. Never has. Never will. He does God. When we
treat him as a consultant, he simply stops showing up for the meetings.”
Did
you notice the phrase Christ used with the man wanting to go and say goodbye to
his family? He said, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and
then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” What Christ is saying is that you cannot follow
God and hold on to your own wants or sins.
Some of you have seen in the movies, where they are plowing with a horse
and the old time plow, which took a lot of work, the person working that plow
had to be focused on what they were doing.
They couldn’t take one hand off the plow and look back, no they had to
keep both hands on the plow and look forward.
In 1st Kings 19:19-21 we read about Elijah calling Elisha to
be his successor. “So Elijah went and
found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field with a team of oxen. There were
eleven teams of oxen ahead of him, and he was plowing with the twelfth team.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and walked
away again. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to
him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will
go with you!” Elijah replied, “Go on back! But consider what I have done to
you.” Elisha
then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used the wood from the plow to
build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other
plowmen, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.” When Elijah finds Elisha he finds him plowing
and probably notices the twelve oxen, that was a sign of great wealth. He might have thought I’m not to sure this
guy is going to want to leave his life of wealth. But did you notice that not only did Elisha
leave his wealth, he got rid of it all, so that he could put His focus on God.
Kyle
Idleman reminds us that Jesus is wanting us to follow Him with all of our heart
and soul and energy; “When you accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him,
you are not just saying that he is a top priority in your life; you are making
him the only priority in your life. He desperately wants you, but he won’t
share you. He will settle for nothing less than your undivided attention and
complete commitment. He wants you to invest in him more than you invest in your
stock portfolio. He wants you to surrender to him more of your time and talent
than the office gets out of you. He wants you to expel more joy and energy in
worshiping him than you do watching the big game.”
Idleman,
Kyle (2011-06-07). Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
(p. 204). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Idleman,
Kyle (2011-06-07). Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
(p. 180). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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