Decisive Moments

As we are looking forward in life, it is so important to put our hand to the plow and serve the Lord.

You might say, “I’m going to wait until I get a little bit older before I really start serving Jesus. Maybe when I’m around 95, I’ll really get serious. I want to have a little fun first. I still want to do some things that interest me personally. I believe in Jesus and want to follow Him, but I will get serious later.”

No, you need to do it now.

Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 NKJV).

To appreciate the point Jesus was making, we have to understand the land in Israel. Putting your hand to the plow meant moving at the decisive moment. It meant moving when it rains.

Between May and October there is hardly any rain in Israel. The ground is dry and hard, and everyone would wait for the first rain. First-century farmers didn’t have the advanced irrigation systems that we have now.

So when the rain came, it was a decisive moment. Whether it was 3:00 PM or 3:00 AM, once it started raining, farmers had to go out with their plows and seed while the ground was still moist. And with their eyes on the furrow, they went forward.

In the same way, we must be aware of the danger and tragedy of the unseized moment. God will bring opportunities into our lives to go out and make a difference, and we have to seize them. If we wait or if we’re not paying attention, we might miss them. And we might become so set in our ways that we’ll have no interest whatsoever in the things of God.

Put your hand to the plow now—and don’t look back.