Daily Lesson for June 3, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 9 verses 57 through 62:

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ 59To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ 60But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ 61Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ 62Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

There comes a time when we have to put first things first. “Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness,” we sing. And the mistake these men who encountered Jesus on the road made was a mistake of priority.

There is nothing wrong with burying the dead or saying a goodbye to loved ones, but Jesus had come at a critical moment, his face was set to Jerusalem, and the time for his followers put first things first had come. He was on the march; and the people were either with him or they were not. 

There comes a time when we all have to fall in, stand up and be counted, decide to follow. There are certain moments in life where more delay or consideration or time is simply not an option. We have to say yes, or we have to say no. We have to give our answer — whether we think we’re ready or not.

Sometimes we may not be ready. But the time is at hand; and so is the plow. And in a moment of faith full of both fear and trembling we take hold and hold on tight . . .