Plowing Without Looking Back

 "No one who puts a hand to a plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." -JESUS   {NIV translation} Luke 9:62

                  Happy New Year!

Muddle: 1. bring into a disordered or confusing state. [verb] 

              2. mix a drink or stir an ingredient into a drink. [verb]

an untidy and disorganized state or collection. [noun]

                                        -the Oxford Dictionary and Google

I bet you are wondering if we are talking about drinks or plows today. And how either have to do with the new year?

One thing that was very clear to me in this last year of living, was the fact that all people are needy, hurting, and in need of a Savior. This includes the Christians of old and of today, as well as those who are lost, living without hope and knowing a Savior.

One big, fat disappointment of growing older, is the reality that no amount of maturity, or sheltered-ness of your sub-culture or religion, shields you and keeps you from needing more Jesus or more redemption. You never truly arrive at staying steadfast without a daily effort of prayer and soaking in the word. You have to be fed and watered daily to grow. We are tender plants no matter how old we are.

So...we muddle along hoping things will work out and that eventually we will learn our lessons. We can keep trying to make knowledge stick and wisdom to stay in place so we can pull it out and use it when needed, but it often proves to be elusive. It's difficult to let God give meaning to the confused state and disarray going on around us. It is much easier to pay attention to our pain points.

Did you know you can over-muddle a drink? This will take the essence of the herb or citrus and confuse it too much, which causes excess bruising. What was once a pleasant taste on the tongue can become suddenly bitter and unpleasant. Discoloring of the fresh basil, mint, or whatever you are mixing may occur and the freshness is gone. 

When Jesus said those words about plowing and looking back, He was referring to the cost of following Him. And it is a cost, to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. Here, Jesus mentioned family, responsibilities, and comfortable homes. Those all seem like extreme case don't they? I don't think He picked those topics willy nilly, though. I think, rather, to help us to see the things nearest and dearest to us sometimes need to be let go, in order to follow Him.

Maybe we have comfort zones, like self-pity and self-righteousness, grief we are going through, neglect and abuse...a whole bunch of things we hold on to as 'our cross to bear'...till they have become comfort zones because we sat with the naming and identifying of them too long. They become comfortable because we were finally able to call them what they were. Now we sit there picking the scab. We refuse to get up and go on. We enjoyed the relief it brought to our souls, when we peeled off the layers and damage.

At what point do we realize healing has taken place? When do we start walking and talking healed?  How long are we going to muddle? Just like the drinks, we can over do the method. What if God says, "This is the right amount of rosemary for you, I know exactly how much stirring and fragrance I want in your cup."

How long must you look back and uncover all the layers of grief and pain of life or that someone has caused you? Most of us have legitimate reasons for grief and pain and we do well to attend to it.  We need counseling. We need healing. But the kind of healing we need is God's way of healing, which involves forgiving and tears mingled with praise and worship and honesty and trust and full out sobs with words that are impossible to phrase. All to Jesus and sometimes, Godly counsel.

I know this because I have experienced this. We must finally get to the place where we realize it is our choice to go on. To realize healing is happening anew and more everyday, as long as we stay in the Word, eyes on Jesus, claiming His precious promises. We must not look back anymore to shame and blame. Look ahead to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

You can choose to not not go back and join the ones or things of life that have hurt you, matching action for action or emotion for emotion. You can't bring a loved one back to earth. But you can commit your scenarios unto God moment by moment as they come to you. He is the only one who judges righteously. You must rest there, in His care. Drink from His cup and accept what is in yours.