It was a full-plate kind of day today, Father, but we got through it! Now at the close of it, may I hear Your voice loud and clear as we come together. Amen.
Luke 9:59-62 (<<click to read the passage)
A couple of times this week, as I have been delivering lunches, I’ve seen an Amish gentleman plowing his fields with a team of draft horses. This picture only shows three but the gentleman I saw had a few more – maybe six? I didn’t drive right past him, so it was a little hard to tell.
Any person plowing with horses or even a tractor has to pay attention to what they are doing. The goal is to plow a straight line to make the most use of the acreage being farmed. Even with the development of GPS (Global Positioning System) driven tractors, the goal is the same, it is just done remotely. (They really do exist! Check out this story on The John Deere Journal)
In this passage, after several had made seemingly legitimate excuses for not following Him right then, Jesus told his disciples
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.” v62 (AMP)
If we are truly going to follow Jesus, and if it is going to truly impact the world around us like it can, we must follow him unswervingly. To be used to the utmost for His Kingdom we can’t look back to what we’ve left behind if we are going to plow a straight line, making the most of the “acreage” in which we’re working.
When I was in college, I loved a spiritual that we had the privilege of singing with the college choir. Its title? Hold On (Keep Your Hand on the Plow). Here are the lyrics as sung by Mahalia Jackson on her 1955 album, The World’s Greatest Gospel Singer. It’s all about keeping our focus on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hold on
Hold on
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on
Hold on
Hold on
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on
Heard the voice of Jesus say
Come unto me, I am the way.
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
When my way gets dark as night,
I know the Lord will be my light,
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
Hold on
Hold on
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on
You can talk about me much as you please
The more you talk, gonna stay on my knees.
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
When I get to heaven, gonna sing and shout
Be nobody there to put me out.
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
I know my robe’s gonna fit me well,
I tried it on at the gates of Hell.
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
Hold on
Hold on
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on
May 7th, 2020, Thurs, 8:26 pm
