Come Follow Me

Matthew 4: 18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus is calling. If you listen you can hear Him. He calls me. "Come, follow me." It is Christ's call to us all. And my heart hears the cry and answers yes.

Even as my heart says yes, I know that following Christ has costs; it sometimes involves suffering and deprivation. So, how then can we follow Christ? First, because He has offered us everything. He is the light in the darkness. But also because this same Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Or to put it like Paul does in Romans 8, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” The gifts that Christ gives us now and has waiting for us in the future far outweigh all the slight momentary afflictions we have to endure as his disciples. But do realize that the life of discipleship will not be easy, that’s what Jesus is telling this first fellow.

Discipleship has its costs--it can bring with it some hardships and it can totally rearrange our priorities. But at the same time, it is completely free because Jesus paid the full price for us with His holy precious blood. It is of infinite worth because He gives us the gifts of life and eternity He purchased for us. Jesus suffered the death we deserve, in order to give us the life that is His. Jesus is the difference between life and death. That makes following Jesus worth any “cost” that discipleship may involve.

In his book, “Follow Me,” Martin Franzmann writes: “To follow him is to leave death behind and to enter upon the realm of life. He brings into the life of the world a distinction as sharp and radical as that between life and death. Christ is the one living Man in all this dying world.”

Growing up I went to Catholic schools, and while studying God's Word today this song came to mind. A song from so long ago, from morning mass, called Be Not Afraid. Come follow me. I hope you enjoy it.