Daily Devotional
Do Not Look Back
The Lord who formed Israel from one man, who brought her through the sea, and who received the tabernacle offering by weight and measure, is the same Lord who in the Gospel sets His face toward Jerusalem and calls men to follow without delay. His mercy is not soft indulgence. He comforts Zion by making her steadfast, and He gathers a people who do not turn aside.
In the wilderness, nothing in the holy work was casual. Brass, silver, linen, and skilled labor were all given over for the service of God. Clement says that God "filled him with the divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to devise and to execute in all manner of work." So also the disciple must offer not scraps, but his strength, craft, speech, and possessions. The kingdom is not served by half-hearted hands.
Isaiah bids us look to the rock from which we were cut and remember the arm of the Lord that dried up the sea. If God made a way where there was none, then His servants must not cling to former securities. Christ sends His apostles with little, teaches them to receive or depart, reveals His glory on the mountain, and then speaks plainly of the cross. To follow such a Lord is to accept both power and suffering, both bread given and bread withheld.
Cyprian warns, "For no man who looks back as he puts his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God." Therefore let burial, reputation, comfort, and fear take second place. Set your face forward. Give what you have to the holy work. Endure the road. The Lord who once opened the sea still leads His people through.
“and I have filled him with the divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to devise and to execute in all manner of work, to work gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and in working stone work, and in the art of working wood, and even to all works.”
— Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies)
“For no man who looks back as he puts his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62 And, finally, Lot's wife, who, when she was delivered, looked back in defiance of the commandment, lost the benefit of her escape.”
— Cyprian, Epistles
For Reflection & Discussion
What possession, expense, or skill can you give this week for the service of God and the relief of the poor, instead of keeping it for your own security?
What unfinished act of obedience have you delayed for the sake of family duty, comfort, or reputation, and when will you do it?
How will you keep your hand to the plough today—by fixed prayer, fasting, guarding your tongue, or enduring a hardship without complaint?
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