The cost of following Christ
"Jesus replied no one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."(NIV) Luke 9:62
The choice to follow Christ should be an individual decision and not one based on family or some other decision. The choice to follow Christ comes with a cost; a cost of never going back to your former life. Many a times, we claim to follow Christ but then we still hold on to our old crooked ways of life.
A plough is a heavy farming tool with a sharp blade or series of blades for breaking up soil and making furrows (a narrow trench in the soil), usually pulled by a tractor or animal. Ploughing involves lots of work if one decides to do it without the help of an animal or tractor. No one will even attempt to plough without help. For Christ to liken following Him to ploughing means He recognizes that it is not easy to follow Him especially in a world with so many enticing things. However, in as much as it is difficult, just as ploughing requires help, He will be our help to see us finish ploughing the land.
Though He will help us finish ploughing the land, we need to be willing to start and continue ploughing to the end. The willingness to start and continue ploughing to the end come with some difficulties for us as humans. These difficulties that make our ploughing journey challenging are the cost we have to pay when we decide to follow Christ. Some of the cost include letting go of friends, family, wealth, a job, a way of life etc. What has it cost you to follow Christ?
He who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom of God. This implies that immediately we decide to follow Christ, there is no looking back. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I am as guilty as you are. How many times have we not focused on our ploughing and looked back? We often keep going back to our worldly ways and possessions. Our Lord is a merciful God and so when we come back and ask for forgiveness, He gladly welcomes us back. However, that does not mean we can keep looking back as we plough because a day will come when we cannot return to the plough and that day will be a sad one for us.
The cost of following Christ cannot be compared with the reward that comes with it- the reward of being coheir with Him in the kingdom. Let us consider the cost we are paying for following Christ as a little token we must pay to receive greater reward. May the Lord give us understanding into His Word. May God bless you.