Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back
is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
(Luke 9:62)

It is one of Woody Allen’s most famous quotes. He said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Now, I guess you can dismiss that quote by questioning how wise Woody Allen is. After all, he is just a film maker. Worse, he hasn’t made a good movie in years. But be that as it may, there are many other people who have argued for a similar point, people like Stephen Hawking (“Half the battle is just showing up.”), business guru Harvey MacKay (“You can beat 80% of the competition just by showing up.”), American entrepreneur Paul Budnitz (“Success is an accident. Showing up, even if it is just for five minutes, makes us accident-prone.”) and the actor Peter Gallagher (“To stay on the map, you’ve got to keep showing up.”). We will discount the John Updike quote for being too snarky: “The world keeps ending, but new people too dumb to know it, keep showing up as if the fun’s just started.” No matter who said it, it is almost an undeniable fact of life: Continually showing up leads to success. And that is not only true about life and business; it is also true about discipleship.

In Luke chapter 9, there are two major treatments of discipleship. The first one (Luke 9:23-26) contains the well-known saying (v. 23), “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” There is no escaping that Jesus is talking to us here. The second handling of the topic is far less popular, but far easier to dismiss (Luke 9:57-62). We can easily contort these six verses so that we think Jesus is not talking to us, but only to these three individuals. Not only that, but it is very clear that these three men wanted to look like disciples, but didn’t really want to be disciples (obviously, unlike us). The first man wants to follow Jesus as long as he doesn’t have to experience any hardships. The second man wants to follow Jesus as long as he doesn’t have to swear unbending loyalty to him. The third man already sees himself as a disciple, but needs Jesus to fall in line with his list of priorities, in this case, he needs some time off to bury his father. But Jesus refuses his request, saying (Lk. 9:62): “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” 

Some background may be helpful. In the ancient world, a farmer would attach an ox to an underweight plow. He would guide the plow with his left hand and steer the ox with his right. The key was to keep his focus on the ground in front of him. That way the furrow would be straight. However, if the farmer ever turned to look at the furrow behind him, the ox would get off course and the furrow would be crooked. And while that doesn’t sound too devastating, in the ancient world you needed to utilize every inch of soil you had so there would be enough food. 

Here’s the point: To be a disciple of Jesus requires an unyielding loyalty that perseveres and does not (and will not) waver. Disciples show up. Each and every day, they get their marching orders from Jesus and then they go out and advance his kingdom. And even when the task is hard and the days are long, they keep showing up. Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Jesus says, “Discipleship is missed by most people because it looks like work.” As a result, when the going gets too tough, people give up and abandon their call. They are like farmers who put their hands to the plow, but then abandon their call when the going gets too difficult. They are like farmers who have no endurance left in them. And disciples need to persevere. They need to have tenacity. They need to endure.

Unsurprisingly, every book in the New Testament talks about the importance of endurance. We see that in Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:2: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” We see this in Peter in 1 Peter 4:19: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” We see this in John in Revelation 2:10: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” And we can go on, because again and again, we hear the call to endure. But it is more than a call. Endurance is an essential characteristic of a disciple; and without it, we are not disciples. John says it this way (1 John 2:19): “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” Let me say it one last time. Faithful endurance, pressing on with the task given to us by Jesus, in good times and in difficult, is at the core of true discipleship.

And yet, we all struggle. Way too often, we find ourselves choosing to serve self over serving Jesus. Way too often, we find ourselves choosing sin over righteousness. Way too often, we find ourselves following our own crooked path instead of following Jesus. We all put our hands to the plow and then look back. As a result, the furrow of spiritual growth in our lives is all twists and turns and kinks and curves. It is part and parcel of living in a fallen world. So, what do we do? Three things.

First, we must cling to the promise of God’s grace. No matter how many times we fail, we grab hold of the gospel of grace and remember that we are loved and accepted and forgiven. And while that does not excuse our faithfulness, it does root our lives in the goodness of God. Brennan Manning writes: “To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side, I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.” Here’s my advice. When you turn your back to the plow, as soon as you are able, confess your sin and take hold of the promise of grace. Why? Because discipleship is all about living in God’s grace.

Second, we must throw ourselves onto God’s goodness and lean into his hope. The book of Hebrews is thirteen chapters calling us to endure. And it constantly reminds us that, even though we struggle with our faith, God is faithful and good. And therefore, we can have hope. Hebrews 10: 23 says: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” We may struggle to hold fast to God, but God’s promises to his children remain steadfast. We can have hope because God is faithful. We need to throw ourselves on God’s goodness because discipleship is all about living in God’s faithfulness.

Last, we need to endure. Yes, we will stumble and fall. We will look back after we have put our hand to the plow. We will give up and be overwhelmed, and we will go our way and close our ears to God’s voice. But afterward, we need to get up and start all over. Enduring doesn’t necessarily mean never failing. It simply means we don’t let our failures stop us. And so we endure. We get up and strive to do better next time. It would be nice if our discipleship meant never failing, but that is not our reality. No, we are a sinful people who, on this side of heaven, will continually fail, but who will always strive to fall forward. There is a Japanese expression that describes our calling perfectly: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” That’s discipleship. It is showing up after you have given up. It is enduring even though the path is hard. It is showing up because you have taken hold of God’s grace and you are not going to let it go. Louis Pasteur once said: “Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” The truth is, most of us don’t have much strength, but our God is good and he graciously gives his people the spiritual gift of tenacity so that when we lose our way, we will get back up and start over again, maybe not perfectly or flawlessly or seamlessly, but doggedly. That’s true discipleship. 

I love this quote from Confucius: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” That’s tenacity. That’s discipleship.