Looking back will never allow you to move forward

Luke 9

The Cost of Following Jesus

 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 was reading a devotion with DD today. We often have great discussions after devotions; she has the mind of an adult when it comes to many spiritual aspects. God has blessed her with mature wisdom and in many cases I learn from her just as much as I would learn when talking with an adult friend about a topic of God. 

The above was our scripture today. I've heard this many times, though I don't clearly remember it making sense to me like it did tonight. No doubt the devotion story attached to the verses clarified it like only devotion stories can; another reason why I love reading them with her. Quite honestly, I wasn't too sure how to explain it before reading the devotion; but after, it made perfect sense to both of us. And now, mulling it over in my head, it explains one very significant phenomenon of a believer's walk. One I'm sure ALL believers (maybe all born-agains) can attest to and those non-believers can admit to being a part of as well. 

That is the phenomenon of - 'the cult'.  It came up again this weekend with some fellow churchgoers as we were discussing the time of leaving behind the old and heading into the new life with Jesus. Haven't you ever been accused of being part of a cult, as a new believer?! I can still clearly remember that conversation with my family. A friend of ours had the same conversation with hers and a couple we were with from church this weekend had, wouldn't you know it, the same exact story. And this section of scripture for me put so many things together; it was the last piece of the puzzle.

I have often felt, though I dearly love each one of my family members, my faith has taken me on a journey where distance is better for my faith walk, because Jesus is what matters most. This is the cost of pursuing a life with Jesus.  And really, to me it's not a cost; God's mercy in choosing me to follow Jesus is nothing but a grace gift of which I am honored to be given the privilege. 

What happens when you go to a conference, it could be for any topic, but usually when you go to a conference it's because it's about something you're passionate about. You're there for an entire day, sometimes a weekend, and you are on a high the whole time you're there.  Over your head in the topic you LOVE with a bunch of crazies who love it as much if not more than you. Wow! It's likened to being in a cult (Mary Kay, Stampin' up, Creative Memories, etc), not bad things; it's just the excitement you get when you share such a strong common bond with hundreds or thousands of people. And then you go home. All jazzed up, talking a mile a minute to your spouse or family because you have all this new-found knowledge, great ideas, new business ideas, etc - like you're plugged into Turbo Charge. And then those stinkin' people back home bring you back down to reality (their reality), which is to say, they suck the hyper juice right out of you! And faster than you were charged up, the excitement goes right out the proverbial window.  

Now, think about choosing to follow Jesus.  In Jesus' day, you are with him, walking and talking with him - that's infinitely times better than any conference we could ever attend today and you're like, 'Absolutely, Jesus. You're awesome, you make me feel good when I'm around you, you're doing all these awesome things, you bet I want to stick with you. I just gotta say goodbye to my family first, get that closure to those relationships.' So you go back and tell them and they're voicing all their concerns - 'Jesus who? that guy that's working for satan, casting out demons, by what power? making the blind see, he's gotta have some weird magic or something. You're gonna drop us, your own flesh and blood, who raised you, fed you, gave you a home for 18 years, just to follow this Jesus character.'  And you begin BACK down the trail of doubt, confusion, wondering who he really is, should you really 'throw it all away' for him?....hmmm, not such a good idea to get the last goodbye, huh?

And now, today, how does this fit. Well, people haven't changed much really. Many tend to value their relationships with friends and family more than their relationship (if any) with Jesus. And here's how this plays out - 'Mom, I've decided to pursue a relationship with Jesus. I've found a church I feel really good about, friends that are supporting me and I just feel in my heart this is what I should be doing.' So you begin your walk, and family/old friends are quiet at first, as you immerse yourself in the activities of the new friends and the church you've found. Family/old friends become a little lower priority as you find yourself and what a 'relationship with Jesus' really means to you. And then it comes out - you must be in a cult; it's taking all your time and attention, what else could it be, how can this be good for you? - all the accusatory comments from those BACK there in your past (remember, anything that is not NOW is the past). And so you have to choose - 1) continue on, forward, pursuing Jesus as you know how or 2) return, go BACK, to those family/old friends. And why do you turn back? to plead your case, prove to them you are not crazy, prove to them that Jesus is good, try to make them see the changes in you are for the better, seek their approval - and what has happened? Your focus is not on Jesus anymore but on you PROVING your choices to the PAST. When you decide to look BACK, turn around, return with the intent of consoling the PAST, you've lost your focus on Jesus. No one can serve two gods. You cannot serve God and love Jesus, when you've got a dual mission to console the PAST and prove yourself to what's behind you at the same time. 

All those who believe in Jesus go through this. For new believers, it's usually at the beginning of their journey. For 'seasoned' believers, this is what I feel keeps them from truly living by FAITH. (Hebrews 11:1 ¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.) To live IN FAITH means we are confident (do not doubt) what we hope for (heaven will reign on earth for eternity)  and assurance (being certain in the mind) of what we do not see. This confidence and assurance is what should allow us to be bold, fearless about ANY circumstance, to have a conversation about Jesus with anyone without fear of the outcome, to not fear death because we know our eternity lies with Jesus in heaven, to not back away from what we believe when we are asked for fear of sounding stupid, crazy, humiliated, and whatever else we might be labeled. 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 

That constant attachment to the PAST (allowing fear to hold the reigns) - the need to return to the old and keep everything PC while attempting to move forward in our new skin - well in reality, doing both at the same time is impossible.  And I don't usually use the word impossible, because I do believe in the word, Mark 10:27 “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” However, a caution to reading this verse and not taking in the verses just before it. Jesus is posing a question, how hard is it for a rich man to enter heaven?  And then he says for man it is impossible, but all things are possible with God. The rich man in the story is saddened to be told he must return, go BACK, and sell all his wealth, basically erasing his past, cutting all ties to his past, BEFORE he can move forward with Jesus. A recurring theme. There cannot be any strings/ties to the past.  To me, what this means is, anything your PAST (family/old friends) might say to you, cannot mean more to you than what the Word says to you and what you are being guided to do by the Counselor (Holy Spirit). The trinity must always be what you attempt to abide by first and foremost. 

As a disclaimer, of course I know none of us will achieve this perfection, but it can be a daily goal to live life for Jesus, in Jesus and with Jesus, letting the naysayers be a thing of the past. 

Jesus did not have a home to return to each night, a plan B, a place to fall back on when he was being mocked, beaten, mistreated, laughed at; he had no back door. If we want to sincerely, truly follow him, we can't have a back door either. 

What a miraculous revelation - 
And to see that the world's relationships, 2000 years ago, are just the same as they are today. 

Saul, a king, hand chosen and annointed by God, fell into the trap of listening to the old instead of keeping his focus on God alone and he ended up losing his crown and his relationship with God was broken because of it.  

1 Samuel 16:¹⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.  ...¹⁷ Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”... ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 

 Looking back while plowing, Saul was. Looking for that approval from those below him, behind him, instead of keeping his focus forward on God. We look back to 'check our work', seek the approval, to make sure we are doing it correctly. How about being CONFIDENT with no need to look back. If we are following Jesus by our own choice, we better believe Jesus' plan is higher than any other and if we're following the best of the best, what's behind us might as well be a fart in the wind and why would you want to revel in that?! ;)