And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” (Luke 9:61)

I Will Follow You But …

Commitment to God has always been the trial that men fail because they are unwilling to allow their full allegiance to be given to a higher being. Pride is the sin that exalts the spirit of man to serve himself above his Creator. Satan challenged Eve with the notion that God was unfair and unjust in His refusal to allow her to eat the forbidden fruit. Convinced that God was wrong, Eve took the fruit and ate it. She was not committed to the will of the Father and suffered because of it. Adam followed suit. Under the Law of Moses, the Lord demanded first place in the hearts of His people. The Ten Commandments began with the declaration that there could be no other gods before Him. God is a Jealous God and refuses to take second place.

Jesus taught the necessity of putting God’s rule first in life. Seeking first the kingdom of God demanded full allegiance to the will of the Father. This required a heart willing to overshadow every personal relationship for the glory of God. Nothing could come before service to the Lord. Jesus taught that the desires of husbands and wives could not take precedence over their duty to the Lord. Love for parents or children could not displace the allegiance to keeping the commandments of the Lord. This would bring families into conflict with one another. God was always first in every part of life without exception. He demanded first place, and He expected first place.

On the occasion, men were seeking Jesus to follow Him, a man approached Him and told Him he wanted to follow Jesus. Before he committed himself fully to following the Lord, he desired to bid his family farewell. He knew the journey with Jesus would be hard and difficult. His heart was willing to follow Jesus and to walk with Him wherever He went. But his heart was not completely ready to leave his family. The man told Jesus he would follow the Lord as soon as he took care of family business. Jesus’ reply was not meant to be harsh or cruel. The Lord’s answer shows the urgency of the message of salvation and the work in the kingdom.

Following Jesus demands complete surrender. Jesus would describe His disciples as those who bore their cross. Cross bearing was a vivid picture for the early disciples, and it shows the cost of following Jesus. There is no “I will follow you, but…” way to follow Jesus. When the heart commits to obey the gospel of Christ, there is the expectation that the heart will continue to be committed to the cause of Christ. Jesus explained that anyone who puts their hand to the plow and looks back would not be fit or worthy of salvation. Following Jesus is all or nothing.