“Immediately they left their nets and followed him. . .. And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20, 22) It seems like there’s always a “leaving behind” that’s necessary in order to truly follow Jesus. For Peter and Andrew, it was their nets, their business, and their livelihood. And for James and John it also included their boat and their father, Zebedee. Apparently, we can’t follow Jesus and drag a whole lot of things behind us, just ask the would-be disciples of Jesus in Luke 9:57-62. There can be no conditions or additions. There can be no “buts” and no “but firsts.” There is no room for negotiation. We leave and we follow. It’s as simple as that.
What do you need to leave behind in order to truly follow Jesus? Is it an old habit or a dysfunctional pattern or a self-sufficient way of being? Is it an unhealthy relationship or an unhealed memory or an unwillingness to forgive? Is it your own busyness, plans, and agendas? Is it ambition, success, and achievement? Or is it a heart of fear and insecurity and anxiety?
Whatever the case, the call of Jesus demands that we leave those things behind so that we can truly follow him. Sometimes that means leaving behind what I am holding onto and sometimes it means leaving behind what has a hold of me. He wants us to move at his pace, in pursuit of his purposes, and all of those other things will just drag us down.
No comments:
Post a Comment