I added the pictures above to the message I shared with you below.
Gather courage -- the journey has already started. Even if you go back you will not find the old shore again. Even if you go back, those old toys will not be of any help anymore; you are finished with them, you will know they are toys. Now the real has to be found, has to be inquired into. And it is not very far away either -- it is within you.
A man who lives according to the past is bound to feel boredom, meaninglessness, and a kind of anguish: "What am I doing here? Why am I continuing to live? What is there in tomorrow? -- another repetition of today? And what was in today was a repetition of yesterday, so what is the point? Why go dragging yourself from the cradle to the grave, in the same routine?"
It is perfectly good for buffaloes and donkeys -- because they don't have a memory of the past, they don't have any idea of the future. They are not bored, because for boredom a certain consciousness is needed. This consciousness is aware that you have done it before, you are doing it again, and you will be doing it tomorrow also -- because you don't move away from the past, you don't let it die, you keep it alive. This is the dilemma that everybody faces in life, and the only solution is to let the past die.
There is a beautiful story in the life of Jesus. He comes to a lake; it is early morning, the sun has yet not risen, and one fisherman is just going to throw his net into the lake. Jesus puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "How long are you going to do this thing, every day -- morning, afternoon, evening -- just catching fish? Do you think this is all life is meant for?"
The fisherman says, "I have never thought about it, but because you have raised the question, I can see the point, that life must be something more."
Jesus says, "If you come with me I will teach you how to catch men, rather than catching fish." The man looked into Jesus' eyes... such depth, such sincerity, so much love that you cannot doubt this man, such a great silence surrounding him that you cannot say no to this man. The fisherman threw his net into the water and followed Jesus.
As they were leaving the town a man came running and told the fisherman, "Your father who was ill for many days has died. Come home!"
The fisherman asked Jesus, "Just give me three days so that I can do the last rituals that a son is expected to do when his father dies." And this is the statement that I want you to remember: Jesus said to that fisherman, "Let the dead bury their dead, you come with me."
What does he mean? "The whole city is full of dead people; they will manage to dispose of your dead father. You are not needed. You just come with me."
Every moment something is becoming dead. Don't be antique collectors; that which is dead, leave it. You go with life, you flow with life, with your totality and intensity, and you will never face any dilemma, any problem.
A man who lives according to the past is bound to feel boredom, meaninglessness, and a kind of anguish: "What am I doing here? Why am I continuing to live? What is there in tomorrow? -- another repetition of today? And what was in today was a repetition of yesterday, so what is the point? Why go dragging yourself from the cradle to the grave, in the same routine?"
It is perfectly good for buffaloes and donkeys -- because they don't have a memory of the past, they don't have any idea of the future. They are not bored, because for boredom a certain consciousness is needed. This consciousness is aware that you have done it before, you are doing it again, and you will be doing it tomorrow also -- because you don't move away from the past, you don't let it die, you keep it alive. This is the dilemma that everybody faces in life, and the only solution is to let the past die.
There is a beautiful story in the life of Jesus. He comes to a lake; it is early morning, the sun has yet not risen, and one fisherman is just going to throw his net into the lake. Jesus puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "How long are you going to do this thing, every day -- morning, afternoon, evening -- just catching fish? Do you think this is all life is meant for?"
The fisherman says, "I have never thought about it, but because you have raised the question, I can see the point, that life must be something more."
Jesus says, "If you come with me I will teach you how to catch men, rather than catching fish." The man looked into Jesus' eyes... such depth, such sincerity, so much love that you cannot doubt this man, such a great silence surrounding him that you cannot say no to this man. The fisherman threw his net into the water and followed Jesus.
As they were leaving the town a man came running and told the fisherman, "Your father who was ill for many days has died. Come home!"
The fisherman asked Jesus, "Just give me three days so that I can do the last rituals that a son is expected to do when his father dies." And this is the statement that I want you to remember: Jesus said to that fisherman, "Let the dead bury their dead, you come with me."
What does he mean? "The whole city is full of dead people; they will manage to dispose of your dead father. You are not needed. You just come with me."
Every moment something is becoming dead. Don't be antique collectors; that which is dead, leave it. You go with life, you flow with life, with your totality and intensity, and you will never face any dilemma, any problem.
I added the pictures above to the message I shared with you below.
[source: GotQuestions.org]
ANSWER: Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead,” in response to a disciple who wanted to spend time at home before committing himself to the Lord. Jesus said, “‘Follow me.’ But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:59–60). This man may have wanted to fulfill the oldest son’s duty to bury the father, to be near the father in order to obtain an inheritance, or to remain near the body of his father for up to one year to rebury the bones, a practice of some Jews at the time. In any event, Jesus’ answer makes clear that this request would have involved putting tradition or the disciple’s own desires ahead of serving Jesus.
But who are “the dead” whom Jesus referred to as being the ones to bury their own dead? The word dead is used in this passage in two different senses. It is apparently a paradox and is used very effectively. The Jews used the word dead often to express indifference toward a thing or to express that something has no influence over us. To be dead to the law (Romans 7:4), to be dead to sin (Romans 6:11), means that the law and sin have no influence or control over us. We are free from them and act as though they are not.
So people of the world are dead to Christ. They do not see His beauty, nor do they hear His voice or desire to follow Him. Only His “sheep” will do those things (John 10:27). The people of the world are those whom the Savior describes here as the (spiritually) dead who should bury the (physically) dead. Let people, He says, who are not interested in My work, and who are “dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:1), take care of the dead. Your duty is now to follow Me.
While Scripture, and Jesus, are clear that we are to honor our parents (Ephesians 6:2), we have to understand that Jesus is to come first, and this would have been especially so in this instance, that is, with a direct command from the Lord. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew recognized the Lord and followed Him at once (Matthew 4:18–22; 9:9). The thing to which the man who wanted to bury his father was called was of more importance than any earthly consideration, and, for that time, Christ chose to require of the man a very extraordinary sacrifice to show his sincere attachment to Him.
As regards the people of the world, nothing is more important than responding to the gospel. This requires that the gospel be preached (Romans 10:14), so once we make the decision to follow Jesus and preach His good news, we must deny dead, worldly pursuits and comforts, and do the Lord’s work. Jesus wants followers, not professors, and those who are spiritually alive will be instruments in the Lord’s hands to call others to new life in Christ.
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