Luke 9:59-60 And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.… And are not these strange words for one so loving as our Lord? How mighty was the attractive force of our Lord's character! When He spake, they were compelled to leave all, and to follow Him. I. "Lord, suffer me first." Ah; that is the cry of nature. "I will come to Thee, but suffer me first." "First suffer me to be disappointed, and then I will follow Thee; first, build my house upon the sand, and then I will come, O Rock, to Thee. First, worship and waste my affections on the day, and then I will come to Thee." "Suffer me first"; but Jesus answered, "Follow thou Me." 1. Follow Me. I am Life, and you seek life, but then you have only death; as long as you linger there, you do but seek the living among the dead. 2. Follow Me. You seek love, and here nothing loves you; that which loved you has gone, and, if you would regain what loved you, you must follow Me. 3. Follow Me. I am not only Life — I am the only Master of the kingdom of life. I am the Way to the life. In following Me, you do not leave behind you merely dead affections; you rise to the true kingdom of the affections. Action, action, action. Life is in action, in following more than in musing. The music of the harp is beautiful, but that has not served the world so well as the music of the hammer; and even all poetry is action — all true poetry is. (E. Paxton Hood.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.WEB: He said to another, "Follow me!" But he said, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father." |
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