Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing, and trusting in Him and following His example]. Matthew 4:20 AMP
Matthew didn’t have much in common with Peter and Andrew. Matthew was a hated tax collector, wealthy and educated, hated by his neighbors, and worked a desk job. Peter and Amdrew were “salt-of-the-earth” fishermen, poor and uneducated, and they worked hard for the money. They enjoyed the companionship of their Jewish neighbors and endured the scorn of Rome.
But when they met Jesus, suddenly they had the most unexpected, most amazing bond. They could never have imagined it. They had all been invited by Jesus to follow Him and be His disciples. That necessitated walking together, eating together, working together – doing life together. For this to have any hope of succeeding, they had to make their mutual bond with Jesus the choice that dwarfed everything else.
They did. They learned to walk with Jesus together because that was His whole point. He knew they were each different, wonderful, and capable. He called them individually to follow Him and become His disciple. They would then together accomplish the mission for the world.
Following Jesus then and now is not a solo sport. Yes, we individually and personally are called, valued, and with Jesus. We are always part of a wide calling. He invites us specifically and uses us in a courageous and convincing community that makes us all better and reaches the world.
The goal of Jesus’ invitation for each of us is that we would first simply be with Him. Not incidentally, but purposefully. You know that technically someone can be with you, but not really with you. They fulfill the requirement of being physically present without their attention and focus engaged at all. Being with Jesus requires our moment-by-moment living in His presence, not a quick Bible verse in the morning and Sunday worship. When we follow, our day is ordered and wrapped around Him.
Then Jesus’ call puts us in the position to learn from Him. The disciples never left Him to get educated. They didn’t enroll in a school. He didn’t set up classes – He used their everyday experiences to teach them. His presence with them made everything a learning experience if they had eyes to see and ears to hear. The same for us. He is always teaching.
Then, the lifelong goal of following is to become like Him. What a privilege!
- Be with Him, learn from Him, become like Him. Always the order of the day. Is that your conscious agenda today?