A man told about his life: “
I made a commitment to follow Christ when I was fifteen. Time has passed and I
am a grandfather now and I continue to learn how to live as his follower. One
crucial decision has led to thousands of others.”
Jesus says “Follow me” and the adventure begins!
. In our Gospel story from
Mark, we only get the plain facts. Jesus
invited some fishermen of the Sea of
Galilee, Simon , Andrew, James and John
to come and follow him, to be his disciples. They left their boats ,
their routines, their families, and
accepted the invitation. They spent the rest of their lives trying to be
faithful to that initial response. When
we say “Yes” to God's invitation, the
path that we will take is not predictable.
A pastor
was preaching on this same passage at a university chapel. He was
emphasizing that when Jesus calls, a definite response is needed. Afterward , a
young woman came up and told him, that while listening to his words, she had
decided to drop out of school and go and work with migrant farm workers.
The pastor was alarmed by her response, and
immediately tried to persuade her to not make such a drastic decision. She
needed to finish her schooling, and besides,she
could still serve God in her chosen major. ( He had to be thinking of what he would say to her upset parents...) Her decision made him uneasy.
This student was firmly convinced that she was doing what
she should. She was imitating Simon and Andrew by leaving her former life behind. Like many
others, her decision to follow will affect her family and life plans.
Persons have felt called to extraordinary life changes as
followers of Christ:
they have left the familiar
and gone to live in another country in mission; they have chosen to make their
homes in the inner city; they have sold
their possessions, and adapted a much
simpler lifestyle; they have run for
office; they have changed careers; they
have spoken out and worked for the
dignity of others; they have put
themselves in danger, gone against the norm, and gotten in trouble.
For most of us , we are
disciples who attempt to live faithful lives right where we are. We don't have
faith stories of crossing deserts, or
being arrested, or leaving all we have behind.
We try to follow Jesus in our weekly routine.
A question that arises from this passage has
stayed with me: “How is my life different because I am choosing to follow Jesus?”
How would you answer?
Thousands of people have
tried to follow Christ in a great variety of ways.
How do we know that we are on
the right track, that we are where we should be?
Trevor Hudson has written a book about
discipleship where he identifies some
common characteristics of all those who
have been Christ followers.
1. First common point : Jesus
is the focus of their lives, the ultimate point of reference. Followers want to
learn of him and love him, study his words, listen for his leading.
It has been said that what
you love will affect everything- what fills up your calendar- whom you know-
what breaks your heart- what makes your day.
For his followers, Jesus is the focus of their love.
Some years ago I left a
meeting in the Dayton area, (before GPS, Google maps- ) and I thought I knew how to get back to the
Interstate to travel to Lima. As I drove, I realized that I had made some wrong
turns and I was lost. To compound the situation, I noticed another car had followed me from
the church parking lot, and was right behind me. They were following me because
they thought that I knew the way! I
had no clue where I was going. I finally had to turn around and retrace my route
. At that point, the other car gave up on me!
I hope that they found their way home...
It is important who
guides our way.
If we are endeavoring to be his disciples , then
our daily decisions and actions need to reflect our faith in Christ.
In your life, whom or what are you following and where is
it taking you?
2. Second common
characteristic: For followers of Christ,
what they value most in this world is people.
Jesus points out that connection in the Gospel story: if you follow him
, you will become fishers of people. Your passion will be the welfare of
others. Every human being becomes valuable.
You care about and interact with all kinds of people like Jesus did.
Desmond Tutu, retired Anglican priest and leader in
South Africa, shares that a spiritual turning towards Christ happened
in the 1940's when he was 9 years old. He lived in one of the segregated townships
and his mother worked as a maid.
One day he and his mother
were walking down the street and the local priest passed by them. The pastor
was a white face among a sea of black faces; as he met them, he didn't turn
away, but tipped his hat in
greeting. Desmond Tutu was startled by this
show of respect, and he thought to himself
as a child: there must be something to this Christian faith!
Followers take time to listen
and see others; to respond to their situations with compassion. Disciples react to their neighbors as Christ
might .
3.Third common note among Christ followers: When we
follow Jesus, we want to be changed on the inside. We want to be
transformed “into what we are not yet but are called by God to be.” ( Trevor Hudson) We want to be reshaped so that our hearts
become more like the heart of Christ.
Followers want to be honest about their lives.
They know how imperfect they are and
want to be cleaned up, restored thru God's power every day.
No matter how many times you
have felt that you have failed at following;
or you didn't quite understand what it meant to follow in the first
place.
No matter if you have felt
that you have disappointed God- the call from Christ will continue for your entire life: follow
me. Every day we have another chance to
leave the fishing boat and follow!
Bishop Reuben Job recently
died at the age of 86. From the farmlands of North Dakota, he has been a UM
pastor, a Bishop, the editor of the
Upper Room, and an author of several great books. In his writings, he always attempted to help
other followers to live out their
calling in simple and honest ways.
Just a few years ago he said:
“While I retired from an appointed ministry
many years ago, the call of God I sensed 65 years ago continues today. "I now believe that
God calls and sends everyone who responds to the call of Jesus to ‘Follow me.’
Some may sense a call to a
specific task or vocation. However, the highest calling anyone will ever
receive comes first, ‘Follow me.’
When we say yes to that call we offer
ourselves to God as completely as we are able
and God accepts and blesses the offering we make in remarkable ways.”
Wherever we are and who
ever we are, God blesses our lives as we
focus on Christ, love other
people, and allow our hearts to be changed.
The invitation never goes
away.
Jesus words of love seek to
claim our hearts today: Come and follow.
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