Verses 61-62, “Yet another said, ‘I will follow you sir; but let me first say goodbye to my people at home. Jesus said, ‘No one who sets his hand to the plough and then keeps looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
My folk musician husband sings a lively song entitled “Gospel Plow”. The words include, “Put your hand to the plow and hold on, hold on, hold on.” The words are sung with a quick beat that evokes a sense of being pulled forward. You feel the need to hold on tight. What matters is moving you. Hesitate, let go, look back and you are left behind.
Our psyche has its own version of the Gospel Plow. We can think of the Plow as our larger Self or God Within. When God Within makes an appearance, we feel the energy. There is an impulse to action. We are shown a direction in which to move. We are given an invitation.
We choose our response to the invitation every time it presents. We can grab hold of the energy—the impulse, the longing, or the knowing—and move with it. Or, we can hesitate and miss the wave of God Within that wants to carry us forward to living our heart’s desires.
We hesitate when we align with our fears, doubts, rational self (versus whole self), or logic mind to the exclusion of our innate bodily knowing. We talk ourselves out of the flow of God Within with outdated notions of who we are, what we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to use our time, or where we are supposed to be in relationships. We resist taking acting on and moving with the energy because it does not fit the current way of being.
Ideas or ideals about our self are helpful when they are a reflection of our larger Self. They are thwarting when they are too little and reflect only a minute part of who we are as an expression of the Divine (God Within).
There will always be circumstances that the head will cite as reasons to not hold on to the “Plow”. Our little self or ego gets so identified with the current state of how we are that we become afraid to act on our soul’s desires. At these moments, we need to listen to the still, small voice of God Within saying, “Keep going. Don’t look back. Hold on to your inner knowing. I (God Within) will pull you forward as you take the next step.”
INNER REFLECTION
Where are you feeling an invitation from God Within? Where are there deep longings of your heart prompting you to make a decision, to take a different action, to relate to yourself, others, and the environment differently? God Within invites us to walk a path that allows ongoing embodiment of our larger Self in all we are, say, do, or experience. Where is the “Gospel Plow” in your life today? Grab hold of it and let it pull you forward. “Hold on, hold on, hold on.”