Luke 9:51-62 (NRSV)
Read Luke 9:51-62 on biblegateway.com
Verse 51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Verse 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; Verse 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. Verse 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Verse 55But he turned and rebuked them. Verse 56Then they went on to another village.
Verse 57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Verse 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." Verse 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Verse 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Verse 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Verse 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Devotion
“Follow me,” Jesus said. What prevents us from following that simple command? What excuses do we make? Maybe after the debts are paid off; once the children have gone off to college; when work slows down a little; once summer is over and the kids are back in school; after the parents have gotten settled in their new apartment? Jesus doesn’t ask us when would be a good time to follow him; he just calls us to follow him now. In the midst of the very important things in our life, Christ asks us to change our focus to something far greater.
Amazingly, our perspective changes when we make the commitment to follow Christ. Christ’s priorities of making disciples and remembering the poor become our priorities also. What about all the other priorities in our lives? They are still there, but now we see them in the proper light.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help us to follow you in whatever form that takes. Keep before us the plight of the poor and create in our hearts the willingness and urgency needed to work to make disciples of all.