Follow Me

Isn't it crazy how you can spend a really long time studying just a couple of verses- and there is STILL so much more to discover from them? I had that kind of experience in Luke 5 this morning, looking deeply into these two verses (27-28):

After this He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And He said to him, "Follow Me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him.

The call to follow Christ is phenomenal, for it is so simple, yet at the same time so deep and complex. It will challenge the rich and upper class people and at the same time it's simple enough for the poor, illiterate people to grasp and obey. But regardless of to whom the call is issued, there is only one correct response: complete, willing obedience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian who died for Christ, wrote in "The Cost of Discipleship" (a favorite book of mine)- "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die..." and in reference to the call of Christ to discipleship: "...Jesus demonstrating what is at the heart of discipleship: willing obedience to the call." Bonhoeffer understood the sacrifice required by the call of Christ, but he was also able to discover the joy that comes to those who follow it completely!

Let's take a look at four or five instances of Jesus saying "Follow Me" in the Gospels:

When the disciples were first called (Matt 4:19-20; Mark 1:17-20; Luke 5:27-28).

Jesus often called His disciples by simply saying "Follow Me". When talking to the fishermen, he called them to follow Him "and I will make you fishers of men". But the call remained the same: blind obedience. They didn't know where they were going or what they were going to do, but they obeyed. Their responses were the same: they immediately left everything to follow Christ. This is a great response- the best. Following Jesus means leaving everything behind and walking with Christ.

When Christ called His disciple Philip in the beginning of the Gospel of John, Philip actually went and told his brother Nathaniel (out of excitement!) about the call of Christ! This is another fantastic response- for out of the joy we find in who He is and His call, we go and tell those close to us, encouraging them to follow Him as well!

The rich young ruler (Matt 19, Mark 10, Luke 18)

Here is the tragic story of the rich young ruler who followed the ten commandments of God to the 'T' but did not obey the call of Christ. When Jesus called him to sell everything he had to follow him, Matthew writes that "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." This is obviously not the desired response to the call of Christ, but it is good that he recognized that he wasn't going to follow Christ at all and walked away. Wait... what?! What did I just write? Check out these next few guys...

The three men (Matt 8:18-22; Luke 9:23-27)

You thought that the story of the rich young ruler was tragic? Break out the box of kleenex when you hear about these three guys. They were either challenged by Christ to follow Him or volunteered to follow Christ... but they all tried to qualify their obedience. They had their own terms of obedience. They said to Jesus, "Lord, I will follow You, but..." Jesus will have none of this. You know what I believe these people are? The lukewarm people mentioned in Revelation 3. What does Jesus say He will do to them? You got it: spit.them.out. Why do we tease ourselves by saying that there exist "lukewarm Christians".

I love when Francis Chan talks about this, because he is so passionate about it. The term "lukewarm believer" doesn't exist in the Bible- the only time "lukewarm" is mentioned is to say that Jesus will spit out those people. Does that sound like they will be accepted into the kingdom of God to you?! I look at the disciples' obedient response as one extreme, and the rich young ruler's walking away as another extreme. But pity the fools that think they can tell Jesus how they are going to follow Him!

Sadly, I believe that the western church today has fallen into that third category of telling Jesus how they are going to follow Him. Don't find the time to spend with God throughout the week? It's ok- God is a God of grace! Forget John 15:5 where Jesus says "Abide in Me and you will bear much fruit... apart from Me you can do nothing." Forget the many verses that show Jesus spending time with the Father and the other verses that tell us we need to walk like He did. Can't find the money in your budget to care for the orphans and widows or (much less) even give some to God?! It's ok... just sharpie out Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25 and the other large passages that talk about the terrible things that will happen to those who don't care for the hungry, poor, orphaned, etc. In the words of Burger King- "have it your way"!

Can you see how sad this is?! And, if you take a step back and think about it, how prevalent it is in the church today? God desires that His Church be a vibrant, living Body that is pointing all people to Himself with their example. A Body that is seeking Him daily, desiring nothing more than to please Him and bring Him all the glory, whatever the cost.

The last example is found at the end of the Gospels in John 21. Peter is being restored from his denial by Christ ("Do you love Me? Feed my sheep...") and is told by Christ how he will glorify God in his death. Then Jesus says "Follow Me". Peter tries to ask Jesus "what about [another disciple]?" Jesus responds, "If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" This is a trap that even the most devoted believers fall into- trying to compare their walk with Christ to another's. Trying to model their obedience by someone else's example, not the example of Christ (complete obedience and desire to follow God's will).

I believe that our 'best' response to Christ's call does not necessarily mean going overseas to serve God or becoming a pastor. For many it will! But while following Christ takes on many different outer forms, the important thing is what's going on inside: are we loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourself? It's the heart attitude- that being obedience- which is most important. Jesus was pleased with the disciples response because they obeyed His call... not just because they did good things.

We are in a place today much more like Peter in the last example, for we understand what the cost of discipleship is. Just as Bonhoeffer wrote decades ago, God bids us "come and die"- die to ourselves and our 'terms' of following Christ, die to the world, and maybe even physically die for Christ (glory!). How will we respond? Will we completely turn away like the rich young ruler? Will we try to qualify our compare our obedience to others? Or will we immediately leave everything we have (our wants, dreams, desires, hopes) and share with those close to us how exciting this call is, for we know that "these light and momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

In the words of Nike: when Christ calls you to follow Him, just do it.

He is worth it.