Communing Through Scripture

But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

Reflecting on this saying of Jesus raises questions. What is the “looking back” behavior or orientation that Jesus is referencing? What does it mean to be be “fit” for the kingdom?

We notice that Jesus does not say that those who look back are barred from the kingdom, or rejected. He doesn’t even say they cannot enter, as he does elsewhere (John 3:5). Instead, such a person is simply not “fit”, but what does that mean? Are they entering but out of sorts with the nature of the kingdom? Does their unfitness keep them out?

Another question is whether what they ought to do is “look forward” rather than behind. Is he talking about time, the past and future?

We may indeed be thinking too much about the past, not simply wistfully, but also in a self-defeating manner. Too much guilt and regret over past mistakes might make us unfit for kingdom work. Another possibility is that maybe we need to focus on where we are, the present, rather than the past.

But we may wonder if he even is saying anything about time because he makes this statement in response to one who says “I will follow you, but let me first say good-bye to those at home” (Luke 9:61). Why does Jesus liken this request to plowing and looking back?

Jesus may mean looking back to a former way of living, though that is not necessarily what this man was doing in wanting to say good-bye. Was he reluctant to follow Jesus and leave his former life?

As a general truth about discipleship, we do need a sense of hope, that God is leading us by grace and despite our missteps in a deliberative way toward good. We need to be “looking forward” in that sense. We need both that future and forward orientation, but also a focus on the present. The decision to follow Christ is a “now” moment on which we must act in faith.

We also ought to admit that we are never truly “fit” for the kingdom, not in ourselves. Any being suited to what the kingdom of God’s reign involves must be empowered by the Spirit. We readily acknowledge our weakness and ineptitude. Those who are fit are those who know they aren’t.

All of our questions suggest that what Jesus says can be taken in numerous ways and speaks to us broadly. The more we think about what Jesus said the more ugh ya come to us.

What I am demonstrating is that as we ponder this saying, turning it over in our minds and hearts to both think of the ramifications and feel how it tugs at us, the more it opens to us through the Spirit’s “voice” within. This spiritual reflection on scripture is more than reading and different from study, but is how we commune with God in the midst of scripture.