While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him (Matthew 4:18-22).
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him (Luke 5:27-28).
Jesus passes nearby. He looks in your direction and summons you to follow Him. What will you do?
These 1st-century brothers didn’t appear to hesitate. They dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. Levi (Matthew) left everything. It excites me when I think about the disciples’ response to the Lord’s call. Instantly, they followed Jesus.
But it was only the beginning of a life-long journey. A life-long string of days, hours, and minutes in which they were called to follow Jesus. And we know that there were times when the disciples chose not to follow Him. Peter is usually the one who comes to mind first, but considering they all were sinners, we know they all did things they later regretted. I can relate, and I’m guessing you can too. But there’s forgiveness when we fall, coupled with much motivation to get back on the path.
I don’t know where you are spiritually today. You may be closer to the Lord than you’ve ever been. Or maybe you’ve drifted far from God. Maybe you’re somewhere in between. Wherever you are, I want to challenge you to take a moment to reflect on these compelling words of American pastor Edward Payson who lived in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He’s a brother who understood what it was like to be off the path, but he was wise enough not to stay there.
“Too long have I run in the race with men of this world, who have their portion in this life. Too long have I been a competitor for the worthless prize which they are pursuing. But I will be so no longer. I forsake the race, I stand aside, and say, ‘Let others pursue and obtain, if they can, the pleasures, the applause, the possessions, which this world offers … I resign them all. I have another race to run, I have nobler objects to pursue; and to this race, to these objects, to the service of my Savior, and to the pleasures, the honors, the possessions of eternity, I now, in the presence of God, consecrate my future life and all my powers.’ ” (Read the entire sermon here.)
None of us are where we want to be. No one would say they’re satisfied with where they are in their walk with the Lord. Let’s ask God to help us to run at a more fervent pace. God deserves that kind of commitment from His followers.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
