Luke 9:57-62: a reflection

57As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.” 58Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 60But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.” 61Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.” 62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”

As people come to Jesus wanting to follow him, he speaks plainly of the wholehearted, undivided commitment following him requires. To one who offers to follow him anywhere, he warns that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; following him is no comfortable path. To another who wants first to attend to other duties, he says, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for God's kingdom. Following Christ is not a half-hearted thing, undertaken with one eye on what we are leaving behind; it asks for a wholehearted, undivided commitment, a hand set to the plow without looking back. Jesus states the cost plainly and does not promise ease; he calls for a following that is whole, not divided, that does not keep looking back to what it has left. Wholehearted, undivided commitment is what following Christ requires.

Notice what Jesus asks of those who would follow him: a wholehearted, undivided commitment, not looking back. He does not lower the cost to make following easier; he speaks plainly of a path without comfort, and of the unfitness of the one who sets his hand to the plow but keeps looking back. To follow Christ is not to add him as one commitment among many, keeping one eye on what we are leaving; it is to follow wholeheartedly, with an undivided heart, a hand set to the plow and eyes forward. The one who keeps looking back, half-hearted, divided, is not fit for the kingdom, not because Christ is harsh, but because following him is a whole commitment, not a partial one. Wholehearted following, not divided or backward-looking, is what he calls for. To follow Christ is to give him our whole heart, not a divided one.

That is worth taking to heart, for following Christ calls for a wholehearted, undivided commitment, not looking back. We can want to follow Christ while keeping one eye on what we are leaving behind, following half-heartedly, with a divided heart; but Jesus says that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for God's kingdom. Following him is not a partial commitment but a whole one, given with an undivided heart, eyes forward. Do not follow Christ half-heartedly, with one eye on what you are leaving behind; follow him wholeheartedly, hand to the plow, not looking back. Follow Christ with a wholehearted, undivided commitment, hand set to the plow and not looking back, rather than following half-heartedly with one eye on what you are leaving, as Jesus said no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for God's kingdom; for following Christ is not a partial commitment among many but a whole one, given with an undivided heart and eyes forward rather than kept looking back to what we have left.

Lord Jesus, as people come to you wanting to follow you, you speak plainly of the wholehearted, undivided commitment following you requires. To one who offers to follow you anywhere, you warn that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; following you is no comfortable path. To another who wants first to attend to other duties, you say, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for God's kingdom. Following you is not a half-hearted thing, undertaken with one eye on what we are leaving behind; it asks for a wholehearted, undivided commitment, a hand set to the plow without looking back. You do not soften the cost or promise ease; you call for a following that is whole, not divided. Show me what you ask of those who would follow you: a wholehearted, undivided commitment, not looking back. You do not lower the cost to make following easier; you speak plainly of a path without comfort, and of the unfitness of the one who sets his hand to the plow but keeps looking back. To follow you is not to add you as one commitment among many; it is to follow wholeheartedly, with an undivided heart, eyes forward. The one who keeps looking back, half-hearted, divided, is not fit for the kingdom. Take that to my heart, for following you calls for a wholehearted, undivided commitment, not looking back. I can want to follow you while keeping one eye on what I am leaving behind, following half-heartedly, with a divided heart; but you say that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom. Keep me from following you half-heartedly, with one eye on what I am leaving; help me follow you wholeheartedly, Lord, hand to the plow, not looking back.