By Mark Collins, Pastor
Meadow United Methodist Church

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 KJV

As we celebrate our independence and the freedom that we have in America I can’t help but think about others who don’t have the freedom we do. Mostly I am reminded of the freedom we have to worship while other Christians are being persecuted for their faith.

We are blessed to have been born in this country at this time. We can choose when and where to worship and even to worship or not to worship. Even a bigger choice is who to worship.

With this freedom people should be able to find the True God, and the church should be growing here in America. If you haven’t noticed, the church here is declining and in other countries the numbers of Christians are growing.

How can other countries without the freedoms we have grow in their faith and we get farther away from God? In this verse Jesus is warning us that if you look back you are not fit for the kingdom. Many people take hold of the plow but keep looking back at their old life, friends, and habits. Looking back makes it difficult to plow a straight row. Then when the plowing gets tough, many let go and forsake Christ.

For them they thought Jesus was going to make life easier and when it got harder they just gave up on Him and took the easy way, the way of the world.

Now for someone who has limited freedom in this world, they are looking for someone to deliver them. They are hungry and searching and when they find Christ at that moment they are truly free.

No one can take that freedom away. The more they try to take it away the more the believer will tighten his hold on the plow. So when others see the commitment the believer has, and the freedom they are experiencing, they too will want to know about the True God that can set them free!