In his recent autobiography, Bono, the lead singer of U2, describes himself as “a follower of Jesus who can’t keep up.”
This calls to mind Jesus’ words in Luke 9:57-62 about what it takes to follow Him. First, in that passage, a man offers to follow Jesus, and Jesus warns him that “foxes have dens… but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” The implication is that following Jesus is more like hitting the road than heading home.
Next, Jesus calls a man to follow Him, but the man asks to go and first bury his father. Shockingly, Jesus tells him to “let the dead bury their own dead” and commands him to “go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Lots to unpack in that but for now notice the imperative to “go.”
Finally, another man offers to follow Jesus but asks first for a chance to “go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus tells him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
What links all of this is the idea that following Jesus involves forward motion. You don’t arrive as a Christian: You move and then grow as you keep moving.
Follow Jesus, and keep moving forward
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