Luke 9:61, 62 Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.” Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” (The Message Bible)
I’ve been meaning to write one of these Afterthoughts about procrastination but I just keep putting it off. Most of us battle with our wills. We know what we ought to do whether that is pray, read the Bible or simply eat right and exercise. We can make a plan in our minds and just as easily set that plan aside. It is hard to get started and then it is hard to keep going. In the end we generally choose what we truly want, but what we truly want may be comfort or someone else to blame or pity. If we take the call of Christ seriously in terms of “taking up your cross daily” as Jesus said earlier (Luke 9:23) it is tremendously humbling. It will entail facing our failures to fulfill our commitments to God, asking for forgiveness, and starting all over again. Most of us don’t like that. So we keep putting it off. But is there really any way around it? This week, what do you need to begin, or begin again, in your promise to follow Jesus?
