61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61-62 (NIV))
When I read this passage, I got confused because it sounds indifferent and cruel not to “go back and say goodbye to my family”, which is the opposite of love. Then when I read 1 Kings 19:19-21 about Elijah calling Elisha to follow him, I was reminded of Luke 9:61. Elisha had the same request as in Luke 9:61: “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”(1 Kings 19:20) Before Elisha was called, he “was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen”( 1 Kings 19:19), which coincides with “putting a hand to the plow”. Elisha did not only “kiss his father and mother goodbye”, but also “took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them” and “burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people” ( 1 Kings 19:21), which suggests that he gave up his earthly possessions and did not plan to “look back” at his previous life. Hence, Jesus does not ask us to be indifferent to our family, instead he quotes 1 Kings 19:19-21 to remind us what Elisha did when he was called. The last days will be like “the days of Lot” (Luke 17:28-29), and Jesus gave this warning of not “looking back”: “On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.” (Luke 17:31, see also Mark 13:15-16) What happens if we look back? Lot’s wife’s fate could be the answer: But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)
As Jesus’s disciples, we are called to plow the field (the world) for Him by “going and making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”( Matthew 28:19-20). But some followers still keep “looking back”. They love the world so much that they try to “serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). They want salvation, healing and peace from God, but they also want money, fame and power from the world. They think they are making a smart investment by not putting all their eggs in one basket. They attend church service regularly to show their devotion and worship to God, but live a self-centered and godless life outside the church and store up earthly possessions for themselves. If Lot’s wife lost her life because of not listening to an angel’s warning, then what will lie ahead of those who don’t listen to our Lord’s warning? “Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” ( Luke 17:32-33)