Throughout the Old Testament we see God shaping his children, asking them to follow his lead, instructing them to obey, requiring their commitment.

Jesus does the same here. “Follow me,” he says to the disciples. “Follow me,” he says to a man walking alongside him. “Go and proclaim the kingdom of God,” he says to a man who says he must bury his father.

Jesus calls for commitment. “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Jesus asks us to be all in, to invest ourselves fully. There’s no turning back, no second thoughts.

Have you made commitments and then backed out? Re­lational commitments, job com­mitments, volunteer commitments? Sometimes when the going gets tough, people just drop out.

God challenges us up front: Commit now, fully. He wants to make sure we know that this is a serious commitment. He is not calling us to be rude to our loved ones or to abandon our family members who might depend on us. But the commitment to live for him is not something we can do half-heartedly. Jesus has given his all for us, and he calls us to live for him with all of our being—with our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Do you hear him saying, “Follow me”?