Follow Me

In some ways, it's easy to get comfortable in life.  Isn't it?  Not that life is easy but we become creatures of habit.  We follow the same routines.  We do the same things.  We go to the same places.  We like to sit in the same chairs in the sanctuary .  And we don't invite change into our lives.  This is normal for most of us.  When we know what to expect, we're often more comfortable and secure.  This can be good.  But I think there are times when God wants to challenge us and change things around.  That's because comfort, security, and routine can actually keep us from trusting God, growing deeper in our relationship with Him, and following His plan for our lives.  

We see this at the beginning of Jesus' ministry when He calls His first disciples.  Mark 1:16-20 says, "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."

We don't know exactly how much Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John knew about Jesus at this point or if they knew Jesus was going to call them away.  But when He said "follow me," it was clear that it meant a radical departure from the life they were living.  In other words, they could not remain in their fishing boats and become the disciples, the followers, Jesus wanted them to be.  Their lives had to be disrupted in order to fulfill God's plan for them.  This is true for us too.  As followers of Jesus, He will call us at times to follow Him away from our comfortable spaces, places, and people.  He will call us to make adjustments in our lives so that we can trust Him more, grow in our relationship with Him, and carry out His will in our lives.  Let us not get too comfortable then.  Let us be prepared to respond to Jesus when He says "follow me."    

God bless,
Pastor Darren