Did you ever wonder why Jesus used the analogy of plowing in Luke 9:62?

I wonder why he didn’t say, for example, “No one, after putting his foot to the accelerator of the Ferrari and letting off to look back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Actually, he didn’t say that because his audience in first-century Palestine wouldn’t have a clue what he was talking about. So instead, I wonder why he didn’t say, “No one, after kicking back in his silver chariot driven by his many horses and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Now, the point of the parable is that following Jesus requires a single-minded, sold-out devotion in one direction. At the same time, I think there’s a reason he used “plowing” as the word picture.

Plowing (before the days of John Deere) was just straight hard work. You got calluses, you would sweat, and you just walked in a straight line for a long time, one foot in front of the other. Following Christ day in and day out is not a promotion to glamour and fame. The details of faithfulness to Jesus while driving, while on the Internet, when our kids are crying at 3am, when my desires rage… is just one foot in front of the other, and sometimes it feels like slogging it through the dirt. But great strength is built in just keeping that plowline going, one step at a time.

There are no gimmicks or tricks or easy formulas in living a life that displays Jesus. It’s just hard sometimes… a lot of times. But I’d rather be plowing two-handed through the dirt with the majestic Lord of the universe than rolling in silver chariots with fame without him.

At the end of a day of plowing, Jesus is with me. He’s been with me all day. Plowing is good.
-Eric