Jesus Issued A Compelling Call

What Did Jesus Do?

And Jesus said to them “Follow me!”
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Mark 1:17-18

John the Baptist said, “Prepare,” Jesus said, “Follow me.” There was a reason John came first: that the people of God should know that the coming of the long-anticipated Messiah was immanent, and they needed to get ready. Because, when Jesus comes and says, “Follow me,” he means, “Now!” The immediate response of Andrew and Simon (Peter), of James and John, of Levi, to Christ’s calling was not intended to set them apart from the rest of us, but rather to indicate the absolute and powerfully compelling nature of the call to discipleship. From its outset, self-denial is central to the life of a disciple (Mark 8:34), for, to a disciple, Christ is all.

Now, we would think it only reasonable that Jesus give us some time to settle our affairs when he calls, but it is not so (see Luke 9:57-62). I suppose this might seem a bit extreme, perhaps even unfair. The thing is, when Jesus calls us he means us to so fully surrender our lives to him that, immediately, we give no further thought to our affairs, and concern ourselves, from the moment of our calling onwards, with His. Radical? Yes! But there is no other way. Being a disciple is not an avocation, nor is it a part-time job. It isn’t even a full-time “job.” The life of a disciple is, well, the life of a disciple—24/7/365.

It is our waking and our sleeping. It is our relationships, our family, and our friends. It is the work we do, and what we do when we are not working. It is where and how we live. The clothes we wear. The food we eat. Our every thought, our every word, our every action. Anything less is to be a Christian dilettante. Jesus calls disciples, not dilettantes. And his call is compelling.

But, hear this, we all fall short of the measure of perfect discipleship. So don’t beat yourself up. But, also, don’t give up on following Jesus because it seems hopeless. You see, our being a disciple of Christ isn’t about what we do for him, it’s what he does in, for, and through, us.

The compelling part of the call of Jesus to “follow” is not that he orders us or makes us do anything, but that his Spirit in us immediately begins to fill us with a desire for nothing other than to know and obey the Father in and through the Son. It is the Spirit, not the self, who causes us to follow when Jesus calls. It is the Spirit, not the self, who steadies us when we stumble in our following. It is the Spirit, not the self, who lifts us up and puts us back on our feet when we flat out fall and fail in our walk as disciples.

Every day, Jesus calls to all of his disciples, and his call never changes—“Follow me!” It is the Spirit who leads us to study and learn what Jesus did, and it is the Spirit who supplies us daily with the faith and the strength to follow, and do what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4