Follow me.......

Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

So what did Jesus mean when He said; Follow Me?

Follow: To pursue, go after, to imitate or strive for, to engage in as a calling or way of life.

First of all these men already knew Jesus. He had talked to Peter and Andrew previously and had been preaching in the area.  When Jesus called them, they knew what kind of man He was and were willing to follow Him. They were not in some hypnotic trance when they followed but had been thoroughly convinced that following Him would change their lives forever.

Why did these men leave everything and go with Jesus? Was fishing slow? Where they tired of listening to their father?  How far did they think they were going with Jesus?  Over to the synagogue? To the next village?  Do you think they knew that their first step would radically change their lives?

What about you? Would you follow someone blindly into a new life leaving your comfortable life? 

Following Jesus is a lot like getting married, whereas you get to know someone a little bit and then you begin your lives together. You do not know how it will turn out, how many children you will have, or where you will live. You just blindly follow each other with love.

We first hear about Jesus, then we learn enough about Him to want to follow Him, but we have no clue where the journey will take us. But we do it out of either desperation or love. Whatever the reason we begin to follow Jesus we soon learn that it is not easy being a follower of Jesus. We get rejected by family members, friends, and coworkers. But we have some much love in our hearts that we do not care.

Today we have the Bible to read and gain knowledge of Jesus before we commit ourselves to Him. Can you imagine how hard is must have been for these men to drop everything and follow Jesus? They didn't have a Bible only hearing by what others are saying. But the message back then, as it is today, still very strong and made from love.

“Follow me” is not the invitation to be saved; it is the call of the believer to service. It is no small decision to follow Jesus. To follow Christ is to set aside our own goals and pleasures and to embrace the purposes for which God created us. Those purposes are: to know Him in a personal way and to make disciples of others by teaching them all of Christ’s commands. All those who truly follow Christ must exchange their affections, goals and priorities for his.

If we “follow” Jesus we must also set the example for others. That is why this is call of the believer.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

This is how we all should live our lives. Not because we think we are arrogant or sinless, but because most people do not know who the true Jesus is.  They do not read the Bible, they do not go to church, and they do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. So we, you and I, MUST show others how to love and behave like Jesus.

I am challenging each believer out there to pursue Christ likeness by being focused on behaving like Jesus did. You can encourage others to read the Bible and learn who Jesus is, but what about you, who has that relationship with Jesus? What better way than to show others what Jesus looks like?

If you can lead by example, can you imagine what your testimony would be? What kind of follower would a new Christian become if they imitated you?

Pray that Jesus would come alive to you and ask you to follow Him. Pray specifically, that you would listen to Him, because He will lead you down the right path. 

Psalm 119:166 I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands.

Praise the Lord that He sees you, He knows you, and He calls you.