Let the dead bury their dead

¹⁹ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
²¹ Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

As I read this passage today, it occurred to me that this is a place where I often fail. When I consider Christ and the relationship I have with them I should "Worry about Nothing" and "Let go and Let God". These things are harder than they sound. For us as human beings we want to be in control but as I read this I consider where does my relationship need to be.

The selected passage starts with a guy who has seen what Jesus has done. How many times have we seen the results of Christ's miracles in the lives of those around us. This guy wants to follow Christ every where, this guy wants to be a part of this, almost, fan club that Jesus has. We don't want to sit and just wonder at the side show that is created by the hand of God, we shouldn't just happily watch as others start a new relationship with Christ. I feel in a way that this is what this man is considering, he just wants to watch the side show. I feel this way because of what he says later on but I will get to that.

Jesus warns him that the road that he is on is relentless, by saying he has no home he is saying that there isn't much opportunity to rest. Jesus in his short ministry was always on the move. He picked up followers at every stop and at times he just needed the peace. What did he do in his moments alone? He communed with his Father. This is not something that is typical for man but in his example we should remember that it is important to always be in prayer, the more we communicate with God the more that we will know his will. It is through God that Jesus drew his strength and we are promised that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

Now I come to the guy's response. I've heard before that the guy's dad wasn't necessarily even dead but he was wanting to go home and do what his dad wanted and then he would join the "Sideshow". The reason that this seems to be an evident situation is because there is no evidence of mourning in the guy. If your dad had recently passed, don't you think you would be a little more upset than this. Here is the application though, this guy was worried about worldly things. How often do worldly things get in the way of our relationship with Christ. I look back and I realize that there have been times when ever these other things get in the way and it has nearly destroyed me as a person not just my witness.

Jesus responds with the line of ages basically saying, if you want to have a relationship with me, you have to put me before everything else. As a husband and a father I realize how hard this can be. I want to, at times, put my wife or my children ahead of my relationship with Christ. One thing I've had to learn and at times be reminded of is that when my priorities are taken care of then everything else will fall into place. If you haven't let the things of this world fall behind Christ then take the opportunity to pray that Christ forgive you for not keeping him in priority. And if you don't know how your priorities should fall then ask God to help you figure them out.

Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and you will be able to see clearly.