THE KING’S BUSINESS
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place, but nothing is sacred enough to put before the claims of Christ. Jesus must have the pre-eminence. He must be abso lutely first (cf. Matt. 6:33; 10:37). This man’s father apparently was not' dead yet. If he had been this man would have been at home already attending to the funeral, for the dead were buried the same day they died in that land. What he desired was to go and wait at home until his father died and was buried, and then take up Christ’s commission. Many a one called to carry the Gospel to foreign lands is lingering at home until some loved one dies. “Leave the dead (Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6) to bury their own dead,” replies our Lord. It is a strange and suggestive fact that we are not nearly so likely to remain at home when some opportunity for money making opens at a distance, as when some call for mis sionary service comes from a distance. And now we see another disciple who had something else he wished to do first. He wished to take one farewell look at the world and old associates. He had fully settled it that he would follow the Lord, but one more look at the world he must have. Men oftentimes determine to fol low Christ, but wish one more ■ look at th'e world before they do. That one more look, at the. world generally ends in their for getting to follow the Lord. Lot’s wife stands out in sacred history as an awful and impressive example of the folly of taking one last look at the world (Luke 17:32; cf. Gen. 19:26). Christ’s answer is deeply suggestive. There must be no look ing back if one would be fit for the king dom of God (cf. Luke 14:33). If a man wishes to plow a good, straight furrow he must always be looking, at some' fixed point ahead (cf/Phil. 3:13). God has no pleas ure in those who look back (Heb. 10:38), their end is perdition (Heb. 10:39). If we wish, to hold on to Christ, we must bid farewell to the world and worldly friend ship (Luke 14:33). If we-hold on to the world we must give up Christ and the king dom. Which will you hold to, and which will you give up?
Wednesday, December 8 . Luke 10:1-4.
Jesus’ ministry was now fast hastening toward its close, and there was much ground to cover. The harvest was plente ous and the laborers few, and Jesus com missioned the seventy to go before Him to prepare the way. We today have the same mission, to go before Jesus into the places whither He Himself is about to come. It must have been a great comfort to these men, if they had any just sense of their own limitations, to think that Jesus was coming after them. They went two and two, which is the constant method in the Bible (cf. Mark 6 :7; Acts 13:2-4; 15 ;39,40; Rev. 11:3). By going by twos, by “the mouth of two witnesses every word could be established,” and two could “put ten thousand to flight,” where one would not put ha}f as many, i. e., five thousand, to flight, but one-tenth as many, “one thou-, sand” (Deut. 32:30). Furthermore, they could offer the united prayer that God promises to answer (Matt. 18:19, 20). Be fore sending them Jesus got them to see the urgent need of laborers and to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth these much-needed laborers. The man who is praying Christ to send laborers into the field, is being prepared to'go himself (cf. Matt. 9:36-10:1). The way to get the right sort of laborers for any field is to pray for them. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest who sends forth laborers into it (cf. Matt. 13:37-40; Acts 22:21; 26:15-18). A laborer to be of any value must be sent by Him. The largeness of the harvest should drive us, first, to pray (v. 2 ) ; second, to go (v. 3). Our Lord’s words of commission to the seventy do not sound very encour aging when He says go “as lambs in the midst of wolves” (R. .V.), but as we listen more carefully, His words are encourag ing, for He begins, “Behold, / send you.” That is enough; if it is He who sends, we are willing to go even though it be “as lambs in the midst of wolves.” They were to go light-weighted. Many an ambassa dor of Christ today is impeded in his efficiency by the amount of baggage he
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