BY: Jeffrey H. Sypole
“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’” ~ Luke 9:62
I believe the secret of the power of the Gospel is to be willing to go all the way with the Lord—putting your hand to the plow and never looking back. I believe people who are “on the fence” cannot enjoy the things of God. I believe when they try to get betwixt and between, they get into an awful mess and things don’t go well.
An experience at Boulder Dam back in the 1930s illustrates this point. The Boulder Dam, which is now called Hoover Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed from 1931-1936. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers and at a cost of over one hundred lives.
One day, a group of powder men had been working all night drilling holes in the mountainside to blast away the rock. They wanted to make the big shot before the day crew came on. At last, the holes were all dug, the dynamite was in, and the wires connected with the power line. The man who was to set off the blast was short of wire and there wasn’t time to send to camp for more. What wire he had wasn’t long enough to let him get beyond the danger zone of falling rocks. He saw a little cave in the mountainside and thought he’d push the button and jump in there. So, he pushed the button, the blast went off, he jumped in the cave—and there was a rattlesnake! He was betwixt and between. He couldn’t go in on account of the snake, and he couldn’t go out on account of the falling rocks. What could he do? He saw a huge rock at the cave entrance. In less time than it takes to tell it, he picked up that rock, dropped it over the snake and jumped into the cave. The snake tattled and rattled but couldn’t reach the man because it was pinned down by the rock.
I wonder whether some folks who say they are Christians really believe in the Lord or not. I don’t know whether they have been born again. Many are “on the fence.” They are betwixt and between. They are like that man in the cave and they will have to do something about it. If you are one of those, get hold of the rock of Christ Jesus that will save you. He can hold Satan down so that he cannot harm you. A decision must be made. Either we go all the way with the Lord or not at all. There is no in-between. This is imperative to experiencing the full and abundant life we all strive for. After all, in His presence is fullness of joy, and in His right hand, there are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11). By loving the Lord with all your heart, you place yourself in a position of joy—joy that is there regardless of your current circumstances. I want that kind of full joy. Don’t you?
Loving God is always a day-to-day learning process. We learn more and more how to do it and keep doing it a little each day until we get better at it and more consistent in it. When we let the “Son” shine in our hearts, we will find the true meaning of life.
