The Difference Between “Lord” and “Later”
3 Reflections
If Jesus is Lord, He comes first. In Luke 9, Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem when He says to a man, “Follow Me.” The man answers, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59). Two contradicting things are sitting next to each other in his response: “Lord” and “let me first.” They can’t both be true — if Jesus is Lord, He is first. The man wasn’t refusing Jesus; he was scheduling Him.
Delay dressed as duty is still delay. The request sounds completely reasonable. Burying a father was among the most sacred duties a son could perform, and Elisha was granted a similar request when Elijah called him (1 Kings 19:20). So Jesus’ reply seems severe — “Let the dead bury their own dead” — until you see what He’s exposing. Not the request. The word first. The call of God had come today, and the man was negotiating for a more suitable tomorrow. A plowman who keeps looking back cuts crooked rows (Luke 9:62).
Obedience will not be easier tomorrow. We rarely say no to God. But we do negotiate. We wait for conditions to improve so obedience will cost less, and for feelings to change so the sacrifice will hurt less. Scripture says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15). The word that came today was made for today. Every attempted deferral tells the heart that God’s voice can wait.
“Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
2 Scriptures
“I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.”
— Psalm 119:60
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
— James 4:17
1 Action
Ask yourself:
what has God told me to do that I’ve agreed to in principle and deferred in practice?
Put your own “let me first” on the table. Some places to look: the phone call He’s asked you to make — to forgive, or to ask forgiveness; the place He’s told you to stop going; the ministry he’s told you to serve on in church; the part of your calendar He’s asked you to clear; the friend He’s told you to check on. Pick the one you just thought of — that’s usually the one — and do it today, before the day is over. Obedience delayed until conditions improve is a heart learning to say “later” to its Lord.
Grace and peace,
NEIL
