The first thing that will keep you from following Jesus is preconceived notions about your future. The second thing that will keep you from following Jesus is excuses in your present. The third thing that will keep you from following Jesus is:

3. Ties to your past

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.”
Luke 9:61-62

Does this mean we can’t be friends with our family if we follow Jesus? No, but it does mean we have to sever relationships with some bad fruit hanging on our family tree—our old relatives named Sexual Immorality, Impurity, Lust, Evil Desires, Greed, Idolatry, Anger, Rage, Malice, Slander, Dirty Language, and Lies.

Why, I went to the mall with one of my

old relatives a few weeks ago!

My cousin Greed rang me up and asked me to go Christmas shopping with her sisters Entitlement, Instant Gratification, Gluttony, Fear and Faithless. I hadn’t seen them for a couple of years, but I quickly canceled a lunch date with Self-Control, Sacrifice, Moderation and Reliance so that we could have a little reunion—just what I needed to make the season complete! After all, what’s Christmas without unneeded gifts, petty packages and senseless stocking stuffers?

1 Peter 4:4Me and Greed picked up right where we left off, before zero-based budgeting replaced zero-restraint-spending. She was a little upset that I had dissed her for so long, but we picked up our friendship like nothing ever happened.

A couple of weeks after our little get-together, I got a picture in the mail of the two of us strolling through the mall arm in arm, a memento from my trip down memory lane. This picture came in the form of a bill—a BIG bill. What I thought I could pay over time was due in full, and it was due now. As in, today. All of it. Uh huh. That’s right.

And this bill arrived the day before I was supposed to lead a couple dozen ladies in a Bible study about craving God instead of craving things of this world. The irony was not lost on me, but I did not laugh as my Accuser hurled insults at me: “Weak! Stupid! Inadequate! Failure! Fraud!”

I had looked back. The straight furrow Jesus and I had been plowing together, His hand covering mine on the plow, now veered off at a wayward angle. The sharp blade of His word could no longer break up the stones, clods and weeds in the soil of my heart. I was not fit for service because I withdrew my hand from His to wave goodbye to my old family.

Mark 3:35When we do God’s will, we’re part of His family. Our new relatives are named Mercy, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, Love, Peace and Thankfulness. Following Jesus means moving forward, not looking back.

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize
for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Philippians 3:13-14

Psalm 139:5The unexpected bill was, unexpectedly, God’s mercy. “Honey,” He whispered, “this is going to hurt, but I am going to let you feel these consequences. It’s for your protection. That’s what Daddy’s do.”

To follow Jesus, we have to abandon our preconceived notions about the future, overcome our excuses in the present and sever ties to our past. As you do, you will hear Him say—


“I AM the God who is, and who was,

and who is to come.

Sweetheart, I knew yesterday

what you were going to do tomorrow,

and I still love you today.”


(You can learn more about your family genealogy in Colossians 3, Ephesians 4:17-5:9, Romans 12-15 and 1 Thessalonians 4-5.)

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