Luke 9:61-62 And another also said, Lord, I will follow you; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.… I. MANY ARE CONTINUALLY SAYING, "LORD, I WILL FOLLOW THEE," WHO YET DO NOT FOLLOW CHRIST. They have a reverence for sacred things; their head-belief is scriptural and unhesitating; they know both that their lives are wrong and their hearts sinful, and the remedy for the evil; but there is always something in the way of their present decision. II. Inquire into SOME OF THE CAUSES WHICH OPERATE TO KEEP BACK SUCH AS I HAVE BEEN DESCRIBING FROM DECISION FOR CHRIST. 1. With some, as with the man of the text, natural ties. "Let me first go and bid them farewell which are at home at my house." "A very natural wish!" you say. And so in some circumstances it would be. When Elijah summoned Elisha to follow him, the son of Shaphat said: "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." And the prophet, stern man though he was, assented (1 Kings 19:19, 20). Why then does Christ act so differently on a similar occasion? We may conjecture that Elisha's parents would be rather gratified than otherwise that their son should become the servant of the great prophet. The parents of this man who came to Christ, on the other hand, would not, it may be, feel that it was any advance or promotion for their son to give up his occupation and follow the fortunes of the poor carpenter's son. Christ may then have apprehended that if the man returned home he would never come back, deterred from doing so by the persuasions of his relatives. Elisha was called from the plough to follow the prophets; this man was called from his occupation to put his hand to the plough. "Oh, but it was the gospel-plough," you say. Yes, but gospel-ploughing was not popular in those days. But whatever it was that rendered this man's temporary return home a probably permanent one, whatever it was that made it perilous to his spiritual interests to go and bid farewell to his parents, I gather from Christ's rebuke that it was something which the man knew. and knowing, did not consider as he ought. We may be sure that for him to do as he proposed would have been actually to prefer his relatives to Christ, the lesser duty to the larger, his affection to Christ's claim. Do natural ties ever keep us from following Christ? I am afraid that, in some cases, they do. Unbelieving wife or husband; worldly parent, scoffing brother or sister. 2. Plea of being too young yet. 3. Worldly preoccupations. Must " get on" in business, provide for family and old age. As if it was not possible to be both diligent in business and fervent in spirit. No man has a right to barter his soul for worldly gain. III. "CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE." Let there be no hindering "but." Christ suffered no " but" to come between Him and the fulfilment of His loving purposes for our redemption. Shall we hesitate to follow Him when He bids us? (J. R. Bailey.) Parallel Verses KJV: And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. |
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