DS from Louisiana asks:
I was reading in the Bible where a man asked Jesus for time to go bury his dead father before following Jesus, and Jesus told him to, "let the dead bury their dead, but you come follow me."
Don't you think this is just a little harsh?

Bill replies;
Thanks for the question DS. To start with, what I think doesn't really matter, what matters is what the Word says. This story is found in Matthew 8:19-22 and also in Luke 9:57-62.
To understand what Jesus is saying here, we need to look at the context in which He said it.
Jesus had just healed a leper, (Matthew 8:2-3), He had healed the centurion's servant, (Matthew 8:5-13) and He had healed Peter's mother-in-law, then a whole bunch of people that evening.
There was surely a lot of excitement among those following Jesus, as they were caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, and wanted to be a part of it.
Jesus was pointing out to this disciple, and thus to us that following Him came at a cost. He/we would need to be prepared to put following Jesus ahead of our daily concerns if he/we were to be effective in serving Jesus.
Hope this helps.
Bill