Plough Ahead!

Luke 9:51-62 “Plough Ahead!”

Friends in Christ,

In his senior year of high school, my father, Ron Zachrich, was elected president of the Future Farmers of America club at Napoleon High School. Since he was raised on a farm by his German immigrant grandparents, it was Dad’s fondest wish to become a farmer. He understood tractors, soils, seeds, and best practices. He loved the aroma of working in a field on a summer’s day, and, above all else, he loved bringing in the harvest in the fall. Unfortunately, his dream of farming did not come to fruition, but his life had other wonderful blessings.

My purpose in telling you this is to help you better understand Jesus’ words to His disciples and to others who came to talk with Him about becoming part of the faith kingdom. To help them understand what was involved, Jesus compared faith to farming, and specifically, to ploughing a field. “Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Words that are both warning and promise.

Let’s begin with this point of clarification: when you are ploughing – literally in your field or garden, or metaphorically advancing in faith – keep the goal in mind and go straight toward it.

1. At 145 years of age, founded in 1877, the American Farm Journal magazine is one of the oldest magazines in our country. It has long been a staple in the home of farm families, and perhaps even in your home. In one of the issues a county extension agent shared some of the intricacies of ploughing a field. (1) Sometimes, farmers forget the attach the plough correctly to the tractor. The plough goes nowhere! (2) Sometimes a busy farmer operates the tractor at too fast a speed and the plough does not go deeply enough into the soil to effectively turn over the furrow – it a wasted effort, wasted time, wasted fuel. (3) Sometimes a farmer operates the plough at an incorrect setting that puts the plough too deeply into the soil. The tractor and plough bog down and accomplish little.

Understand?

2. Then try this. While many people were attracted to Jesus’ encouraging words about forgiveness, comfort, hope, grace, love and life, some in the crowd did nothing with the words. For example, when one man said that he would like to accompany Jesus, Jesus replied that it would be difficult and uncomfortable with nothing permanent for resting. The implied words are that the man stopped following Jesus. Another man wanted to also accompany Jesus, but only after he had completed necessary tasks at home. And, a third man said that he would follow when things settled with his family obligations. Others asked to be excused to be married, one to break in his new team of oxen. While all seem like reasonable excuses for not immediately following Jesus, nowhere do we read that any of them ever renewed their pursuit of spiritual things. Their good beginnings did not predicate good endings.

You might think of it this way: I read some time ago about a site outside of Exira, Iowa, sixty miles east of Omaha, Nebraska, in Oak Park a most unusual tourist attraction. It is titled, “Plough-in-the-Tree”. And, it is just that – an old, single blade, steel plough protruding from a giant oak tree in a roadside park. A plaque – you can read it is you look on the internet – tells that in the early 1860’s farmer Frank Leffingwell whistled his team of horses to a stop at the end of the field, near a then tiny oak sapling. Thoughts of fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War filled his mind far more than did ploughing the rest of his field. Frank Leffingwell unhitched his horses, left his plough against the tree, and walked off to fight in a war in which he ultimately died. The oak sapling eventually grew to engulf the unused plough. No seeds were planted, no harvest was gathered.

3. To be clear, understand that as disciples we are not required to forsake family or livelihood or enjoyment. But, we are asked to keep the pursuit of faith as of first importance. We would do well to remember the early words of our Gospel, “Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The threats of King Herod could not dissuade Him, the pleadings of the disciples to avoid the cross could not dissuade Him. Even thoughts of the pending suffering and agony of an arrest, punishment and death on the cross could not dissuade Him. His love for us remained His uppermost goal. He would not stop until He had redeemed you, me, and all in the world. How good it is when we are single-minded about our faith – worship, prayer, fellowship, service, giving and more.