Come, Follow Me

"Come and follow me," said Jesus, "and I will make you fishers of men." - Mark 1:17

I often think about the mind-blowing affect of these words spoken by Jesus.  They first appear in Scripture as He calls together the 12 men who will be His disciples.  One of them was Levi (later known as Matthew), a wealthy man because of his profession, tax collector.  It doesn't say that Levi took the time to wrap up his business affairs, bid goodbye to family and friends, or even pack a suitcase. No the text says, "and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him." 

I think about the boldness of Levi's reaction.  Later in Christ's ministry when a young, rich ruler asks how he can inherit eternal life, the response is to "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  (Luke 18:28).  This answer saddens the young man because he is completely unwilling to relinquish his earthly wealth now for heavenly treasure in the future. 

"Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."   Luke 18:25

The point being made was not that we have to be poor to follow Jesus but that we must be willing to give up the love of all idols in our lives, including money, in order to follow only Him with a pure heart.  It has taken me years to get  that I must be willing to give up everything in order to follow Him.  I have been slowly identifying the idols in my life and one by one, putting them in their proper perspective but I am still alarmed at the implication of literally dropping everything to follow Him.  On bad days, when I have one too many responsibilities awaiting my attention, I can envision myself walking out the door and not looking back.  After all, I do love a good adventure.  But if I am honest with myself, I know my heart has strings attached to the people and things I love.  I want that bold heart to be willing do what Christ asks of me.