Straight Ahead

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lu 9:62 AV)

 

Here is a standard placed upon all who would walk with God. Without getting too doctrinally deep, the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom wherein those who accept Christ walk with God.  The kingdom of heaven is the physical kingdom promised to Abraham and his descendants.  Sometimes the terms are interchangeable.  This is so because to enter into the physical kingdom of the Messiah, one must accept Him as Savior.  In other words, at the inception of the millennial kingdom, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are the same.  What we do want to consider this morning is the condition upon which one would be considered fit for the kingdom of God.  This does not mean salvation is works-based.  Someone can be in the kingdom, yet not fit for it.  This is the understanding.  Those who are looking back to the pleasure of the past as better than the cost of the present, are not fit for it.

Something of which my dear wife will remind me of is how much I drift while driving when my attention is placed elsewhere.  Especially during deer or turkey season when I am seeking prey.  As any true hunter will do, he will scan the fields for a glimpse of his next meal.  He scans and looks for any indication this new site might produce results.  However, he is also looking for a glimpse of any prey whether they would be in my plans or not.  Looking for a massive twelve-pointer is always of the highest priority.  More so than staying in between the white and yellow lines.  Seeing a large tom strut is far more important than getting side-swiped by another driver.  She just doesn’t understand.  Depending on the habits of the driver, the drift will be either towards his quarry or away from it.  Either way, the drift will keep the driver from staying on a straight path forward.  As attention is diverted from the obvious goal ahead, the goal is never reached.  If my wife did not strenuously object to my diverted attention, we would end up in a ditch.

When it comes to the kingdom of God, there is a clear goal ahead.  That goal is Christlikeness.  Our objective is to yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and surrender to the transformative nature of His power unto the likeness of Jesus Christ.  We are to yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit to further the kingdom.  As we yield to the control of the Holy Spirit, we are used by Him to share the love of Christ with others.  This takes striving towards a predetermined end.  A goal or purpose, if you will.  The point our Savior is trying to make is losing our focus makes us unfit for the kingdom of God.  We cannot be used to glorify Him.  We are not the believer we should be.  We cannot be used to share the love of Christ with others.  By looking back, we inadvertently or negligently circle back.  We become ineffective and even lose ground.  We can cause damage to ourselves and others.  Forward is the only direction in which we can go.