No time to delay
As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about 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. Luke 19:57-62
From the text, Jesus told His disciples the importance of obedience. Luke 19 begun with the narrative that talked about Jesus sending out His disciples. The challenged posed by the chapter was God’s expectation to His disciples. When God commands a Christian to follow, there is no time to make excuses and the time to respond in obedience is now. The tendency is to take our time and act as if there is no sense of hurry to following God’s command. Christians tend to act as if they have the luxury of time to let God wait. Yet, when you start to ignore God’s command to be obedient to Him, the culture’s morality continues to go down and those around you missed the opportunity to be impacted by your godly influence. There is no such thing as letting God wait for your decision. Either you obey or not, believe or are affected by unbelief, and to trust or to just ignore God completely. When God prompts you to obey, your response will be critical. So if you make excuses why are you not willing to obey, you do not trust God in His timing. God knows your situation and regardless if you’re prepared or not to obey what matters is that you trust His invitation for you to act. God will provide what you need so you could follow Him faithfully. This is where your claim that you love God fits in. God knows who you are and what you need so you could be a part of expanding His kingdom. He knows the circumstance you are confronting and will provide adequate resources so you could experience what it means to follow God. God wants you to delight in Him and be obedient to His will. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (Psalm 37:4-5). Realize that what He asks you to do has eternal significance and that your disobedience might affect the life of others.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman Westside Baptist Church Los Angeles, CA
