59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62.
To all of us, Christ commands us: “Follow Me.” and “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Some may obey by leaving their home and going into the mission field. Others may obey by moving to a different part of our country. Others may obey by leaving their current employment and working elsewhere. Others may obey by leaving their church and going to another church. And, there are certainly other ways that we will apply this Scripture to obey it.
At first, it seems hard that we cannot first tend to family duties such as burying our father. It seems harder that we cannot say goodbye. But, it seems hardest that we cannot even look back! Notice the emphasis of this strict discipleship by the progression from major to minor: doing an action (burying our father) to words (saying good-bye) to just a glance (looking back).
We can speculate as to the reasons for this strict discipleship. But, no reasons are given in this Scripture. This Scripture just concludes: “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Rather than focus on the reasons for this strict discipleship, which may be “looking back” in a sense, we should focus on following Christ. We should focus on going and proclaiming everywhere the kingdom of God. We should trust Christ to make us fit for the kingdom of God.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 