OPINION —
When Dean and I were enjoying a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, I thought about that day when Peter and Andrew, and James and John, heard the call of Jesus.
They were ordinary fishermen, fishing for a living, tending their nets. Jesus interrupted their lives with a simple invitation: “Follow me.” Amazingly, they left their nets and their boats and followed Jesus.
Why did they follow a wandering preacher? They had no idea what following Jesus would mean.
Why didn’t they ask the questions you and I would have asked: Where are you going? How far? How long? Benefits? Pay? Those men asked none of those questions. They just left everything and followed Jesus. Why did they, and why do others, follow Jesus?
The best answer for me is the magnetism of Jesus, the drawing power of his love. There was, and is, something magnetic about the person and the presence of Jesus. We see it in the gospels. People were drawn to him everywhere he went. Some wanting to be healed. Some enthralled by his teaching. Others out of curiosity.
Though crowds of people followed Jesus around, few of them were actually followers of Jesus. He did not “call” everyone to follow him as disciples who would become his apostles. But the twelve heard his call and chose to become his students.
Ever since his resurrection and ascension, he has been calling not a few but everyone to follow him as disciples, servants and witnesses – to spread the good news of salvation. Songwriters have given us songs about his calling: “Jesus is tenderly calling thee home,” and “Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult of life’s wild, restless sea, day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying, ‘Christian, follow me.’”
Some hear the invitation early in life and rise up and follow him. An eight-year-old boy said to me, “Pastor, I want to be baptized so I can serve Jesus.” The more I questioned him, the more I realized he was responding to a call from God. I baptized the boy and he became a servant of Jesus.
For others, the call is gradual. There is a tugging at the heart for years until finally there is a serious decision to follow Jesus.
But whether the response to the call is early, or later on, there is for all who follow Jesus a sense that God is up to something and we want to be a part of it.
I experienced the magnetism of Jesus in my teen years. I tried to ignore it. I tried to run, even into my college years, but finally I too “left my nets” and began following him.
I have seen his magnetism at work in countless other people. God blessed me with friends early in life and throughout my life who were captured by the magnetism of the love of Jesus.
What does it mean to follow Jesus? It involves much more than being a church member.
Consider first the original twelve who followed Jesus:
1) They gave up what they were doing and literally went with Jesus as he traveled from one village to another.
2) They surrendered to the authority of Jesus. He was their Master.
3) They became students of Jesus; students is another word for disciples.
4) They willingly chose to listen and learn what Jesus was teaching them, though they were slow learners.
5) They accepted the assignment of Jesus to be “sent out to preach the kingdom of God, heal the sick and cast out demons.”
6) After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and agreed to “go and make disciples” by being his witnesses.
7) The church was born and spread across the world partly because they followed Jesus.
For us today, to follow Jesus is a bit different, although like the twelve, we must also make a serious commitment to “follow” his teachings in the gospels and surrender to his authority. To become a true follower of Jesus requires that we:
1) Surrender to Jesus. Surrender is the essential decision of conversion or the new birth. Convicted of your sins, you repent and ask God to save you from your sins.
2) Accept God’s forgiveness and rejoice that he has made you a new person. You have been released from your past and given the gift of the Holy Spirit who will guide you in the service of Jesus.
3) Live every day yielded to Jesus as your Master. You are no longer in control. He is now in control of your life.
4) Worship him daily, praising him for his love, mercy and grace.
5) Look for ways to make his love known to others, sharing what he has done and is doing for you as “a Christian in the making.”
The key to authentic discipleship is to follow Jesus in the same way Jesus said you should love God – with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. When you choose to follow Jesus, get “all in.” Do not settle for a weak, pathetic and nominal relationship to him.
Many have set the bar high for us. Consider the zeal of C. T. Studd, a wealthy Englishman who sold everything so he could take the gospel to the world. He went first to China, then to India and in retirement to Sudan. Listen to some of his last words: “Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin. The time for waiting is past. …Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God…and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man.”
Jesus is calling. Are you following him?
