"He said to another man, 'Follow me.'' But the man replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.' " Luke 9:59-62 (NIV)
After His transfiguration, Jesus was walking along the road with His disciples and they were approached by several men. The first man said that he would follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus told the second man to follow Him, but he wanted to first go bury his father. The third man said that he would follow Jesus, but first he wanted to say good-bye to his family. Jesus basically said, let the spiritually dead take care of those mundane things. Then He added, if they had the desire to follow Him, and looked back to their worldly life and longed for things in it, then they were not fit for service in the kingdom of God.
Once we have heard The Word of God, it is time right then to take action and follow Him. Delaying action for any reason is just plain procrastination. God does not want to hear our excuses, either we will follow Him or we won't. Longing for anything in the life that is behind us is unacceptable. Remember what happened to Lot's wife when she looked back towards Sodom. (Genesis 19:26) Once we hear The Word of God, nothing in our past life should interfere with our following and obeying Him. Start the walk with Christ immediately, and grow in Christ as you walk with Him. Step out on faith and trust in God. Do not wait until you "get yourself together", that is just procrastination. Putting anything before God makes us unfit to serve Him.
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