Following Him Home…
“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
(Matthew 4:18-22 NLT-SE)
Here’s one of those passages that you read and skip past…when you really should pause and think about what you just read.
What do you suppose the conversation was like when Peter came home and told his wife he’d quit his job to follow a guy he met on the beach?
Think about all that these men and their families left behind to follow Jesus…
Jobs…
Financial security…the little they had…
Community…they were now outside the Jewish folk they had grown up with and lived with…
Personal identity…faith was at the center of every Jewish persons life…
I have to believe that there was no little conflict with family and friends over the abrupt decisions they made.
They turned their own lives inside out and upside down to follow Jesus.
The one thing it is assumed that we all will leave behind to follow Jesus is our autonomy.
If we have attitudes or associations that conflict with following Him, they are to be discarded or redeemed…one or the other.
The Scriptures leave no room to disagree with Jesus about what is right, what is wrong, and how we are supposed to live…even if it turns our lives upside down.
My world changed radically many decades ago when I decided to go all in and follow Jesus.
It changed again yesterday when I refused to compromise my faith to suit someones political views.
I’ve followed Him too long and the road has been too hard to throw it all away to follow an immoral mortal and his deceived followers.
Jesus has promised that I’ve lost nothing truly important and that He is worth more than I could possibly lose.
I believe Him.
If your faith has cost you nothing…your faith should be examined.
If it has cost you much…so shall be your reward.
Just a little longer and we’ll be home…I’m not bailing out this close to the door…
I think your exegesis of the passage is spot on!
As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, disciples will be insulted and persecuted on account of their allegiance to him, yet God will account them as blessed.
Thank you, Michael. I’m the only Christian that I am aware of in my immediate family (it hasn’t been for lack of trying). My “real” family for the past 50+ years of my Christian walk has been my church family, as wall as miscellaneous believing friends I’ve met along the way. I am very thankful for all of them! I’ve gotten in “trouble” many times for obeying Jesus, but it’s what one famous African-American called “good trouble.”
Linn,
It seems as things get darker , those who cling to Jesus shine more brightly.
In this present darkness, I’m very grateful for the ones the Lord has placed around me to encourage me to keep walking.
We lose stuff…and we lose some people, but someday all will be well.
I can’t control other people’s choices, only mine…and I’m all in.
Michael,
When I was contemplating the faith at the ripe old age of 15, I realized that Jesus was either pretend, who he said he was, or totally deluded. He didn’t act deluded, and his disciples didn’t, either, so I quietly signed up.
As usual, I prophesy the following will remain ignored (not by those here, but among the ecclesia), but Jesus began and remained the focus.
Now, that gets twisted into Jesus is used as a tool for evangelism, then the bait-and-switch, as Jesus never taught to prioritize buildings, power, $, etc.
Had real discipleship been propagated (as He commanded), people would’ve constantly reset their focus back to Jesus for daily instructions and love, instead of being sold out.
And Jesus wept.
UnCCed,
As a result of what you stated above and more…the next wave of real persecution will be against the followers of Jesus by the cultural Christians…
“…the next wave of real persecution will be against the followers of Jesus by the cultural Christians…”
Michael, I think it is already happening. Christian aid programs are losing funding unless, of course, they are part of the political cult. So-called “liberal” Christian schools and universities will be targeted on the grounds of accreditation or withholding of research funding. As I said, it is already happening and we are only in the first hundred days of this regime…
Duane,
Yes, it is.
This is another in the waves of ways that we have become disconnected and divided…followers of Christ will be learning the meaning of the Scriptures that talk about family member against family member …again…
And, what some of the Trumpeteers don’t realize, is that Christians could be in the crossfire if the administration goes the other way-a very liberal president who starts to require Christian colleges and seminaries to do certain things, limits what churches can do and say, and persecutes Christians in the workplace. We have become so polarized that we can’t see the other side of the coin.
An example of the above would be a case in San Francisco (my hometown) many years ago where a gay organ player sued a church for discrimination when it wouldn’t hire him due to his sexual orientation. It took years to get it settled (in the church’s favor), but most of the civic institutions and media (newspaper/TV/radio) condemned the church for being prejudicial. The church was out a lot of money for its defense, as well.
Linn,
I just heard that the administration is going after Wheaton for being too woke…Wheaton.
This is insanity and you’re right about what happens when the pendulum swings…
Michael,
The Christian college where I got my master’s degree doesn’t take money from the government. That’s about the only way to stay safe from government overreach.
Wheaton? I wish I could say I’m surprised, but almost nothing surprises me anymore.
“Jesus has promised that I’ve lost nothing truly important and that He is worth more than I could possibly lose.” Amen.
The closer I get to a new faith, the more I lose interest in the catastrophic state of America. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I used to be glued to news, reading the broadest sampling of sources as I could to develop a clear stance. I used to be an activist. I marched in the George Floyd protests with BLM and CPUSA. I was shot at with pepper balls and rubber bullets, and I was proud of the welts and bruises. I was sprayed with pepper spray and had milk poured over my face. The pain was glorious.
I don’t care anymore. I genuinely seek that still small voice. I seek the rush of that peace that passes understanding.
I still read AP, Al Jazeera, and BBC from time to time. I see that Trump is causing waves globally, and the world warns of a classic dictatorship, hinting at what it has already seen. The world is annoyed at the geopolitical slime being caused. However, I lost interest. For me, my old favorite verse has been on repeat in my head, Acts 20:22-24. I want to be that guy.
Sorry, it’s 3:47 in the morning and the coffee is still on the outside.
Reuben,
Each one of us are unique in our situations and needs, situations and needs which don’t always stay the same but often change as time moves on. From the best that one can form a viewpoint over the internet and from a couple thousand miles away, I would venture to say that it’s a good thing right now for you that you aren’t caring nearly as much about the “catastrophic state of America”. Maybe the time will come again someday when that kind of thing will or should have greater importance for you. But for right now, I believe that God is reaching you through that still small voice and showing Himself to be Someone quite different than you had ever realized Him to be. Through that He is giving you some manner of the peace that you are seeking that which would only be harmed right now by a strong focus on the state of politics in our country and in the church.
I certainly could be off in my assessment, but this is my best attempt to discern whether it’s a good or bad thing that you are not very concerned with the catastrophic state of America right now.
Reuben,
I think you’re doing exactly what you need to do.
You are worth far more than the orange menace…
While I should probably sit and ponder this more I will throw caution to the wind to share my initial thoughts. I can remember the day I decided to forsake my old life in order to follow Jesus like it was yesterday. In some ways I gave up everything, that is every hope and dream, though the everything that I gave up was worthless drivel in the first place. I placed all my aspirations into one becoming the world’s largest marijuana dealer. I may have been nowhere near achieving it yet that did not stop me for making it my all-consuming desire. My back-up plan was to be a rock star but even in my unredeemed state I refused to sell my soul to the devil. The question I often ask myself is, “what did I give up that was of any value?” Nothing it seems. However, as unvaluable as it was it was what I valued.
On the other hand when I left the ministry to follow Jesus, not once, twice, but three times, I lost a lot of things that had value. I lost a faith that was sure about a whole host of theological matters only to now know that all I know or want to know is Jesus (and that definitely does not look pretty). I lost my guiderails in a sense. I lost the hope of pastoring finally realizing that it was a vain pursuit too. I lost camaraderie and a sense of family that I never knew but even then it was tied to my obedience to the system. I guess what I am trying to say that giving up everything to follow Jesus might be more than a singular event relegated to the past. It is more of a continual, though periodic awakening, reexamination of what one believes and loves to test whether or not Jesus is in said belief or love. The point is even things that appear spiritual or sacred, especially within a particular Christian subset are found to be truly spiritual and sacred or they are not. I find that a tough pill to swallow.
“I guess what I am trying to say that giving up everything to follow Jesus might be more than a singular event relegated to the past. It is more of a continual, though periodic awakening, reexamination of what one believes and loves to test whether or not Jesus is in said belief or love. ”
Exactly…this is what it means to follow Jesus…almost a daily exercise…