Continue following today. Yesterday we saw that the disciples who were called obeyed immediately. They left all but not everyone that came to Jesus had the same response.
“When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you any place you go.”
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to rest.”
21 Another of Jesus’ followers said to him, “Lord, I will follow you too, but let me go and bury my father first.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let those who are dead bury their own dead.”
23 Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him. 24 After the boat left the shore, a very bad storm began on the lake. The waves covered the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The followers went to him and woke him. They said, “Lord, save us! We will drown!”
26 Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then he stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. The wind stopped, and the lake became very calm.
27 The men were amazed. They said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him!” Matthew 8:18-27
Here are two men who came to Jesus and had good intentions on following Him but they were hindered by their own limitations. I say the first man was put off by the lack of personal comfort. He had just seen Jesus do many miracles of healing. He saw that others were following Jesus and was moved with a desire to be part of those who followed but when Jesus told him that He really had no permanent home, or prominent national headquarters (my words not the Scriptures) he reconsidered the cost and followed no further.
The second man was also a man of good intentions but family life caused him to draw back. And so he too was left on shore when Jesus had His followers get into the boat to cross the sea. The difference between the two groups – immediate obedience vs life’s circumstances.
Now notice when the “followers” were in the boat and the storm came the “followers” weren’t great men of faith. They feared for their lives. Jesus on the other hand, rested in the midst of the storm because He was following His Father’s plan. He lived a life of faith. Following Jesus and living a life of faith doesn’t mean you will never go through a storm. It does mean that you will be victorious in the midst of it.
I heard one Bible teacher say that Jesus didn’t tell his followers “Let’s get in the boat and go half way across and drown.” He said, “Let’s go to the other side”. When Jesus calls you to follow, you can be assured He’s a good leader and you will be safe with Him.
Honestly, I have been a part of both groups. There was a time I wanted to follow Jesus because I knew it was right and good but I wanted to follow on my own terms. There can only be one leader! And I’m not Him.
Don’t let life or circumstances deter you from following today. Get into the boat and go to the other side!