Looking Ahead—Not Behind

I recently watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie. Mary, the oldest of the Ingalls’ girls, was struggling as she tried to guide a team of horses as they dragged a plow.  She was weaving all over the place, unable to keep the team pointed in the right direction. Someone saw her difficulty and came to her aid. He said the only way to plow a straight line was for her to fix her eyes on a point ahead and to aim for that.

Imagine what would have happened if she kept looking back. The horses would have responded to her pull and followed her. The intent of plowing, to turn over the soil for planting and to grow a crop for food, would not have been possible. The difficulty of plowing would be increased, and the reason for the work would never have been realized.

Read Luke 9: 62

Jesus’ response at the end of that section says it all: no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. Looking back not only prevents us from seeing what is ahead, it keeps our eyes on what is behind.

To be useful in the kingdom of God, we need to look ahead and fix our eyes on Jesus, not on what is behind us.

“I have decided to follow Jesus—no turning back, no turning back”