In 1946 Akio Morita and another man started a new company called Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering in a bombed-out department store in Tokyo, wrote Kevin Maney.
In 1955, Mr. Morita’s company made the world’s first portable transistor radio. An American company, Bulova, offered to buy the radios at a handsome profit, but the deal troubled Mr. Morita. Under the deal, Bulova would sell the radios under their own name.
Morita wanted to establish his own company’s brand name. So, even though the deal would have brought his struggling company a much needed infusion of cash, Morita decided against the deal telling the executives at Bulova, “I am now taking the first step for the next fifty years of my company.”
Morita’s company went on to become one of the greatest success stories in the business. Besides the transistor radio, they built the first VCR and the first compact disk player.
Incidentally, by the time he turned down the deal with Bulova, Morita had already changed the name of his company – to Sony.
In business the choice is often between present and future rewards – with the biggest rewards coming in the years ahead.
To enter the kingdom of God, we must abandon the enticing but small rewards this life offers to gain the reward of life eternal.
The text of this post is Luke 9:57-62. In this text, we hear of three men that have a different response to Jesus’ request to follow Him. The first man (v. 57) immediately tells Jesus that he’ll drop everything and follow Him; however, Jesus responds to the man by saying (v. 58), “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Hmmm…what is Jesus telling this man? He is giving the man a reality check, explaining to him the cost of following Him. He is essentially saying, “Hey man, following me isn’t easy. People will reject you. You will lose friends. Following me is tough business. You better understand what you’re getting into before you choose to follow me.”
The second man (v. 59) told Jesus that he will follow Him but he wanted to bury his father first. Jesus then said to the man, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Okay, let’s unpack this for a second. What is Jesus telling this guy? Jesus is referring to both physically dead (the man’s father) and spiritually dead (lack of response to Jesus’ words and call). In ancient world children (especially the oldest male), they were duty bound to care for their parents. However, Jesus’ call to followership took precedence over every earthly call. The big take away here is that nothing – I mean nothing – can stand between you and following Christ.
The third man (v. 61) was willing to follow Jesus but only after he went home and said goodbye to his family. What do you think was Jesus’ response to that one? In verse 62, Jesus explains, “No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God.” Uh oh…what’s Jesus telling this guy? Jesus is saying, in essence, to leave the past behind him and focus on the future – a future with Him.
So, to answer the subject question of this post, how much are you willing to give up to follow Christ? The answer to that question should be “everything.” You must also keep in mind, however, that a lot of what Jesus was referring to, such as “let the dead bury their own dead” was meant to be figurative (non-Christ follower being “dead”) instead of literal. The moral of this story is that following Christ takes everything you have and you must be willing to look forward, keeping your hands on the plow instead of looking back at the past. I saw a statement today that says this: “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” A future in Christ is amazing – a worthy goal. It must take priority over yourself and the culture – don’t let anything hold you back from the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Go in peace and serve the Lord.
In His service,
Jeremy