Devotional from Jill Ramirez
“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.”
Mark 1:16-20 NIV
Notice when Jesus called his first disciples, they immediately left what they were doing and who they were with, and followed Him. All throughout the gospels are examples of people walking away from everything to follow Jesus. What does that mean for us? We don’t live in a time when Jesus will physically walk up to us in human form and say “Come, follow me.” So how do we follow Him? What does it look like?
If we take a closer look at what it looked like in his inner circle to follow Him, we may get a better idea. His disciples not only left their physical homes and families, they left their very comfort. They left behind what was normal, routine and secure to them to follow after someone that would take them far outside their comfort zone. In the same way that the disciples had to step away from their comforts to follow Christ, we are called to do the same. Too often we want to follow Christ with our whole hearts, but also cling to the things that help us to get what WE want out of life.
We are called to follow Jesus though the hills and valleys, the highs and lows, the dark shadows and beautiful sunlight. We shouldn’t follow only when we feel secure and comfortable. We are called to follow no matter what the circumstances. No conditions. Full surrender. I’m sure if we could talk to the disciples today they would say it was worth it. Why should we think it would be any different for us?
His has given us everything we need to faithfully follow Him. He has given us his Word as a guide and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome our natural desires and impulses. God has given us all that we need. Following Christ isn’t something we decide to do one time. It is a daily walk, an everyday way of life!
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
James 4:7-8a NIV