The Road Devotional | Lent 2024

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he 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 goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” 

It’s extremely easy to make and give excuses for why we aren’t giving our best to God. There’s plenty of noise and distractions, and it’s not always easy to make wise choices when everyone around us are making other choices. It’s also common for us to convince ourselves that our excuses are very GOOD excuses, even righteous ones (how many times did the religious leaders make them by using the law as their way of justifying their beliefs?)

Q. In what areas of your life have you been making excuses? How have you been using your beliefs to excuse yourself from something God has been nudging you to do?

Jesus describes himself as having “no place to lay his head.” This can be interpreted both literally and figuratively: Jesus has no physical home to speak of, and wherever Jesus decides to stay, he doesn’t feel completely safe.

Q. Does knowing this about Jesus change the way you interact with and acknowledge those in our midst who suffer from insufficient housing?

If you look backwards while plowing, you end up making a significant mess. If you want to move forward in a straight path, you need to have your eyes sight forward.

Q. Where do you keep looking backwards in your life?

God, Fill me with your Holy Spirit, empowering me to let go of anything that holds me back from wholeheartedly consenting to you. Give me a steadfast and unwavering determination to follow Your son Jesus wherever he leads.
Amen.