Rear View Mirror
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
Looking Back – “If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out.” Oswald Chambers was as harsh as Jesus. He’s right. There is no safety when we follow the Lord. At least there isn’t any safety according to the world’s standards. God wants to push us out into the violent ocean of life’s troubles so that He can use us as peacemakers, healers, reconcilers, counselors, friends and lovers. You are no good to God sitting on the sheltered pew under the stained glass contemplating the alter. You’ve got to go out (Abraham would say lech lecha – go forth). You’ve got to be where the world is hurting if you are going to be fit for the Kingdom.
The Greek construction is blepon eis ta opiso (looking into the things behind). You can see a Hebrew equivalent in Genesis 19:17 where looking back brings instant death. So, you might think that this verse is about someone who decides to follow the Lord but then looks back at the past life with a desire to return to it. You might think that this verse is about wavering, wanting some of that old way of doing things back again. You might think this is about serious reconsideration of what you had to give up. But you would be wrong.
There are several Greek verbs that mean “to look.” There is horao which implies taking heed, seeing with care. Blepo implies the ability to see, not the degree or intensity of the sight. There is theoreo which implies a careful and deliberate attention to something seen. Blepo implies a glance in the direction of the object, not necessarily a careful and thoughtful examination. The classic case of the difference is the story of the blind man who receives his sight. Blepo describes his ability to see, not what he sees. With these distinctions in mind, let’s look at this verse again.
“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and glancing into past things, is fit for the kingdom of God.” A ton of bricks just fell on my chest! It’s one thing to look back on the old habits with nostalgia, but it’s quite another to be told that even a glance in that direction will affect my usefulness to God. Then I remember Lot’s wife. She didn’t drive away from Sodom with her eyes fixed to the rear view mirror. All she did was glance back toward what she was leaving behind – and it killed her.
Now we have to be careful about two things. First, we have to recognize that being fit for the Kingdom is not quite the same as being a chosen citizen. “Fit for the Kingdom” is a metaphor about my usefulness to God. It’s about my availability for His purposes. To be fit for the Kingdom is to be ready to work. God doesn’t grant me His grace and mercy based on my fitness, but He certainly can’t use someone who isn’t ready to go to work. Secondly, glancing back makes it impossible to plow a straight line. I have to concentrate on what is in front of me if I am going to get the job done. Try driving down the freeway with your eyes on the rear view mirror. You’re a danger to yourself and to others. If you’re going to be of use to God, no turns of the head are allowed.
Of course, we all do glance back, don’t we? But God forgives even glances. Now, back to work!
Topical Index: blepo, horao, theoreo, seeing, glance, Genesis 19:17, Luke 9:62
The Lord naturally knows all things and what befalls us when we meander back to those wrong places in our minds and lives. It very much is like the Israelites and mixed multitudes clamoring to go back to Egypt after being set free from bondage.
Now if our thoughts take us back to Him and our glance is for the right purposes, such as acknowledging thanksgiving, or using our past to witness for His power in saving us …. then this is a proper look back into the past … correct? Thoughts?
Ultimately I suppose keeping 1st Corinthians and Hebrews in mind, where Paul exhorts us to “run the race”, is sound wisdom. If we keep looking ahead towards the prize then our path is clear and hopefully our steps more confident and straight.
This was a well timed message … at least for me … thank you Skip!
One of my favorites of all the ‘Today’s Word’ was the one regarding the future. It was so good I leave it in my Bible to read from time to time. To see G_d’s will in my future life I only need to look into the past where He has been faithful. One day I listed these items in my journal and was shocked to see such a long list. He is indeed faithful!
Then I came to todays word and see I am not to look back…uh?
I know, I know, it is all context, but it was confusing to me and my simple mind. Yes, I cannot plow a straight line if I look back (I’m an ole farm boy, so I understand this perfectly), but I think it is good to look back and reflect where G_d has been faithful.
I was thinking the same thoughts Ken.
Can you clarify this a little more for us Skip?
It has been my experience that when, after looking back towards my more ‘pleasurable’ failures, I feel the urge to move again in that direction, He sets a wall around me beyond which my wilful thoughts just “damp out”. If I were to persist in trying to move in this direction, He would graciously remove those walls and allow me to reap (yet again) what I sow…but frequently in the midst of the struggle I sense His protection, and know that He does, with the temptation, provide a means of escape.
The question is, will I take it?
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. – Not a casual glance, but a continuous gaze. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. We are wired as to be able to only think one thought at a time. If ask our Father to immerse us in the Christ and invite Him to indwell us through the power of His holy breath, He promises to daily lead us in His paths of righteousness. We must feed on Him and His words- (they are spirit (breath) and they are life). We must allow Him to incarnate His words within us that we may be salt and light to our family and friends. Are we living today, knowing- He is looking at us, looking to Him for our daily breath and bread?
Carl,
A wonderful thought indeed …. made my lunch break that much more enjoyable!
🙂
Plowing is not the same as rowing.
Shades of the April 22, 2009 message – Seeing God’s Past?
You are on top of your game these days Skip! … you should have simply responded and pointed back to this previous message! 🙂
b/t/w The two of these messages together really does paint a real concise picture of the relationship between the past and future! Cool!
“First, we have to recognize that being fit for the Kingdom is not quite the same as being a chosen citizen. “Fit for the Kingdom” is a metaphor about my usefulness to God. It’s about my availability for His purposes. To be fit for the Kingdom is to be ready to work. God doesn’t grant me His grace and mercy based on my fitness, but He certainly can’t use someone who isn’t ready to go to work.”
Skip, this is a source of conflict for me. Why would God call/choose us as citizens of His Kingdom if we won’t work? Don’t you think this is one of the failings of the church today? Many “professing” their being “chosen” but failing to be “doers”? If God equips those He calls, to do Kingdom “work” and He commands us to obedience, then would you not agree that anything else is unacceptable and will have to be accounted for at the final judgment, our final “job” review so to speak? I know this sounds serious, but actually it IS.
You’re right. One of the biggest tragedies is the fact that the contemporary church has moved away from the idea that faith is a VERB. In Hebrew thought, it just isn’t possible to have faith and do nothing. Faith implies action. It is not a set of “beliefs.” We see that Israel still retained their “belief” in God but their actions were idolatrous and the consequences were disasterous. God intends to use His people, not let them sleep until His return. So, if I don’t see godly action in a “believer’s” life, then I can’t be sure that they really have embraced the WALK (a verb).
So, God calls and equips, but there are plenty to would rather side on the sidelines and watch someone else plow. The call is independent of our willingness to embrace the expectation within the call. The covenant with Abraham is not the same as the covenant with Moses and Israel. I agree that refusing to do the work is a serious error. The scariest verse in the New Testament might be the one where Yeshua says, “I never knew you.”
[I agree that refusing to do the work is a serious error. The scariest verse in the New Testament might be the one where Yeshua says, “I never knew you.”]
I do not want to put any words or implications into this comment but I should be able to safely ask some questions.
We know that grace (“chen”) is unmerited and an unearned gift …. no arguments. My simple question: “can people who are offered this gift reject “Y’shua” by way of failing to accept the terms of responsiveness?” Even if the mental or verbal accounts of many persons claim that the gift has been accepted? Or is there somehow the scenario wherein zero transformation still results in salvation?
Yeshua clearly declares that spiritual re-birth is necessary! Yeshua clearly declares that obedience is the mechanism that confirms our love for him. Yeshua clearly declares that re-birth and obedience are integral to the “in-dwelling”. With this being the case is it not valid to conclude that zero transformation = no spirital re-birth and essentially a rejection of The Gift?
Now I will not equate transformation with plowing. I think many believers may not plow seriously but do undergo a lifestyle change that rejects sin and the systems of this world. It is not for me or anyone else to judge the hearts of persons or what they do with the gift.
I guess I just see as problematic the situation where the acceptance of Yeshua as Lord and Savior does not result in genuine t’shuvah. So is there salvation where there is rebellion? Is there salvation where there is no obedience? Or …. despite our lack of power in acquiring grace is there a response that is required?
I have heard arguments on this issue before and often times peoples’ choice is removed from the equation. Some will argue that we as humans can not even choose YHVH on our own and that this choice is also only a gift from YHVH. This of course takes us down the path of pre-destination as opposed to pre-determination which of course entails a choice.
I don’t mean to put you on the spot Skip but I would like your thoughts. I do not believe in a mental acceptance of Yeshua as being counted for faith; even the demons believe in Yeshua! At the end of the day how do you view the spewed out luke-warm false believers? These are not supposed outsiders but insiders … correct? So what makes them “half hearted”? Not lack of belief but a lack of true faith …. is this correct?
I know a few people that come from performance based “religions” that have ingrained in them you must be doing something physical to be serving/working for God/Jesus/Holy Spirit – this is not necessarily true. I read an article once about a great man of God that wrote some kind of dictionary or Lexicon that took him half of his life & he was schizophrenic. He was a very odd fellow for sure but used greatly by God. I myself don’t do anything “physical” for God but I do minister to quite a few people (counselor, teacher, revelatory, prophetic, discerning, warring, praying, thanksgiving) – so many things that have to do with relationships – not working as a physical job/laborer.
My prayer from day one of my new birth was “use me God” & He always does in some way shape or form. Ministry is not about working to get something or prove something or look good for God – it is about being open to whatever He calls us to do – I don’t question peoples miniseries as much as I question their salvation. What people are doing for God is a mystery for sure – we may never know what they are doing for Him but we will know them by their fruits which is not performance based – the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the purity of our relationship with Him.
How true Skip faith is not a verb, I once heard someone teach on this that faith is ‘action based upon belief, sustained by confidence. The begining of faith is leaning on a chair to see if it can hold me before I have confidence enough to sit in the chair and as I sit in the chair I can rest in confidence that it will not break. Does this make any since to you as it has helped me to understand that faith takes action, the action is evidence of the faith.
thanks again,
Jeff
It seems to me that this matter of faith being a verb and that true faith (belief) is active obedience is something that is observable – not necessarily in terms of ministering to others (that can take many forms and be completely unobserved which is what God tells us about gifts of service where people behind the scenes who serve in low or obscure positions for God’s work will actually receive greater honor)….On the salvation level, however, I should not have to “suspect” that you are a follower of Christ and if I do, something is wrong with this picture, right? Remember we are talking about a profession that should match a new-birth transformation – old self out, new creature in. Demonstrable. And the only way I am going to see change is in a life that is transformed and actively obeying God through words and deeds.
The question that I tend to ask is “so what?” Again, it seems to me that the danger is for those who are self-deceived into believing that mere mental assent to certain facts is saving faith – I for one do not believe that to be true. If there is one thing we know about God is that He is love and if there is one thing we know about love is that it is demonstrable, i.e. it “gives” (John 3:16). God’s love was demonstrable in a BIG WAY (“while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”). I cannot imagine a God who would go to such lengths to redeem His created order and to rescue us for His glory and sort of have us “half or sort of believe” in the truth of His redemptive work but not act on it. Faith as a verb sounds like just another picture of Lordship salvation to me and I tend to lean in that direction myself. Do I believe that I am saved? Yes. Do I believe in a living demonstrable faith that “works?” Yes. Have I personally “done” more than simply sign off on a checklist of beliefs or creedal statements? Yes, I have. Am I placing any confidence in my own flesh? Nope. My confidence is not grounded in me…but in the anchor of my soul which is Christ Jesus. He is the One I am transfixed on…He is the One I long to please…He is the One I will serve…sadly, He is the One I will fail…happily, He is the One I will ask forgiveness of when I fail and He will forgive…He is the One I long to be like. So for me, this discussion, on a “for me” level, is largely moot. I already know my problem and it is called sin, unbelief, disobedience. But I have already received His solution. Case closed. Now is the hard part….living it moment-by-moment. Walking the talk. In fact, apart from the Word of God and the Spirit of God, the Christian life isn’t just hard…it’s impossible. So I will cling and hang on to Him. He is enough. And if that transformation isn’t evident to those around me, then if they are believers, I would hope that in love they would call me on it! Is it real or is it Memorex, Salyer?
The “so what” then becomes those who are around me (“Others”) and who I observe. I don’t see anywhere in Scripture where I am to judge whether someone is saved or not saved (in the sense of having either deep insight into that issue or in the sense of having control over that issue). My responsibility to others is love…the love of Christ. That love tells me that if I see a “believer” who is not demonstrating faith as a verb (or faith with works ala James), then my call is very simple based upon what is clear from Scriptures: 1. Either that other person who professes belief is not a true believer and therefore, deceived and lost – and my response is to plead for God’s mercy and grace in their life, to ask for the conviction of the Spirit of God to regenerate and give new birth to their soul, and then to become God’s “Fed-Ex” deliverer of His gospel in word and/or deed so that if God chooses to use me He can do so, or 2. That person who is professing belief is being disobedient – in that case, my response is to challenge this disobedient believer with the truth of God’s word (expressing His truth in love) and to make clear the consequences of his/her ongoing disobedience, the need to repent and seek forgiveness and to turn from this disobedient path toward a path of obedience (ala Nathan to David). Basically, instructing that there is a way of “pain” and a way of “gain” – say no to “pain” and say yes to “gain”. Then the choice is up to this “other” person and my task (other than prayer and being available to be used by God as much and as often as He wants me to be with this disobedient believer – accountability, discipline etc.) is complete….
So this idea of “faith as a verb” (faith that works) to me is only a “so what” when it comes to a personal examination of my own faith (“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith”) and when it comes to examining the life of another person who, if there is no evidence of a life in which faith is measured as a verb, then either they are not saved (and I have a love response for this) or they are saved but disobedient (and I have a love response for this as well). God will sort out who is saved or not saved – that’s His job. God will sort out who is rewarded or not rewarded – that’s His job.