It seems to me that most times I ask my grandson to do a task he asks me for more time. Regardless of what he’s doing it’s seldom a good time. When Jesus was in the midst of his ministry people tended to be drawn to him so strongly that many dropped whatever they were doing to follow him. One man said: “Sir, first let me go and bury my father.” (Matthew 8:21) You’ve likely heard the story before and may have thought it was a cruel answer when Jesus replied: “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:22) I used to think it irreverent to not allow the man to attend his father’s funeral. However, I didn’t understand the whole story. I still don’t know if the man’s father had passed yet, but after learning what it meant at that time in history to bury someone I understood Jesus’ answer a bit better.

Jewish tradition was to place the deceased person in the ground on the day that they die–the first burial. That was followed by a seven day period of mourning. During those seven days they were not allowed to leave the house–they were on lockdown. After the first week, they would place the body in the burial chamber and leave it to decompose. According to my commentary: “When the flesh had wasted away the bones were collected and placed in small chests called ossuaries. After the flesh had gone from the bones, and the bones were placed in the ossuaries–the second death, the son stopped mourning.” That gave me a different perspective. I don’t know how long it takes flesh to fall off of bones but Jesus’ entire ministry was only three years. He may well have been finished here before the man was truly ready to follow. He was double-minded which comes to us quite naturally. We don’t like to choose–we want to have it all: “Yes, Jesus, I want to go but just let me finish this one last movie.”

You must have one focus when you are seeking the Lord. “When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek me wholeheartedly; and I will let you find me.” (Jeremiah 29:13-14) Keep your heart focused on the Lover of your soul.