“As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” Luke 9:57-62 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/luk.9.57-61.NET
Are we fit for the kingdom of God? We should be concerned about this because when we see our God, if He says we are unfit to live with Him forever, it will be too late to adjust our lives. Who was unfit for the kingdom of God in His teaching? The first wanted to follow but apparently was put off by his lack of control over what following Jesus would mean. The disciple of Jesus must allow Him to lead wherever He goes, at whatever cost, doing whatever is required. The second man wanted to take care of a deceased family member, a noble cause, but the dead had already made their own decisions. The living must be pursued. A reminder of our need to make spiritual fitness our first priority. The final man wanted first to say goodbye to his family, but Jesus commands His followers that unless they love God more than family, including spouse and children, they are unworthy of Him (Lk 14.26). Being fit for the kingdom means placing the great commandment and the great commission first priority in our lives. Making loving God by pursuing our relationship with God through His word, prayer, and His church our highest priority is vital to our spiritual fitness. The second is like it exercising our faith by doing God’s will, which is loving our neighbor as ourselves by winning our neighbor into the eternal kingdom of God. This is the purpose of the church today, why God has left us on the earth and how we practically display our fitness for the kingdom of God.
