Luke 9:61-62

Jesus desires “wholehearted devotion and a willing mind” from His followers. He knows human nature. If we allow ourselves divided hearts in regard to Lordship, we will fall. “Put everything you have into the care of your heart, for it determines what your life amounts to.” Dallas Willard Jesus tells us:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matt 6:24 (NIV)
“Money” in the above verse is translated from the Greek word “Mamonas” meaning the comprehensive word for every kind of valuable or material good. Again, a divided heart will not stand. In our verse for today, what perhaps appears harsh to us is actually Jesus seeking to bring an awareness of duplicity to this man in regards to his heart. The man begins by telling Jesus that he will follow Him. The wording actually means the following: “Cleaving to Jesus in believing trust and obedience, following His leading and acting according to His example hence the constant stress laid by our Lord Jesus upon the need of self-denial and fellowship with Himself in the cross. Following Jesus denotes a fellowship of faith as well as a fellowship of life, sharing in His sufferings not only inwardly, but outwardly if necessary” (Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids). We are speaking of priorities here. Jesus wants this man to come to the realization of the top priority in his life. Like Mary, whom Jesus commends for making the correct choice in Luke:
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)
It was not that the preparations were not necessary, they were just not number one or, as Jesus calls Himself, “First” (Revelation 1:17) from “Protos” meaning “foremost, first, the first”. Divided hearts, distractions of our minds, and duplicity in our emotions will keep us from “being fit for service in the kingdom of God”, says Jesus. When Jesus states: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back”, the connotation “looks back” denotes a fixation; to look back with partiality; to show favoritism; to treat as exceptional. This reminds me of Lot’s wife, the pillar of salt who longed for the worldliness of Sodom by looking back – an apt description of Jesus’ words: 23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Gen 19:23-26 (NIV)
It is also reminiscent of the Israelites who longed for the leeks, garlic, cucumbers and fish of Egypt, their land of slavery! Wailing against the Lord and His provision for them, the rabble longed for bondage when freedom was offered: 4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" Num 11:4-6 (NIV)
Again, when we allow the devotion of our hearts to be divided, whether for worldly goods, people or places, Scripture shows that we anger God and cause ourselves much havoc. It is not that God is trying to hold out on us or take away from us, He graciously is the Giver of all things, it is that He is desirous of our good and for the glory of His great Name. “God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them” Augustine of Hippo. This occurs when we place Him first in our lives without looking back or longing for the bondage He has released us from and going forth living in the freedom that will never be taken away from us. “Whatever a man seeks, honors, or exalts more than God, this is the god of idolatry.” William Ullathorne “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one.” A.W. Tozer