Your Devotion May Not Be Bad But It May Be Harmful

Luke 9:57-62 57 “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”"

We listen to the words people say, but God sees the heart.  Jesus could see the hearts of the three men He responded to.  The first needed assurance that he would have some place to come back to.  The second had greater commitment to the affairs of this world.  The third had greater affection for his family.  None of those things are inherently bad. But, if they keep you from Jesus, then they are eternally harmful. So many people want to cling to the natural in their yearning for the supernatural.  

Like Lot’s wife. (Luke 17:30-33; Genesis 19:26) “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.”

I have seen so many Christians turn to look back.  Perhaps some did not have true faith, like the parable of the seed (Matthew 13), I don’t know. But is saddens me to know what they are missing.  Probably the greatest sadness is when it is someone in your family.  They act one way when you are around and quite another when you are not.  That behavior shouts of their spiritual ignorance.  It is not me that they should be concerned with, but God who judges the heart and who is always present.  

People, Christian or not, might hide their sinful ways from you or one another, but they cannot be hidden from God. God, the very One they need, they turn away from to embrace an imitation.  It is interesting the Jesus did not chase after them, but let them go their own way.  We can’t see the heart of man, so we continue to hope that one day, they will turn their hearts toward God.  God demands all of our devotion. CHARLEY