What It Means to Follow Jesus Today

[Jesus] said to him, “Follow me.”

Luke 5:27

Notice that this command of Jesus is completely open-ended. “Follow me.” What will this mean for Levi? Jesus gives no specifics.

When students are looking around universities, the admissions department will say, “Here’s our course. And here are all the marvellous facilities we have on campus. And here’s what we can offer by way of bursary or future career options.”

If you are being recruited for a job, human resources will say, “Here is the mission of our company, and here is where you can contribute. And here are the salary and benefits. There is a great future for you here.”

But there’s nothing like that here. Just two open-ended words: “Follow me.” To follow Jesus is to share His life. It involves going where Jesus goes, doing what Jesus does, believing what Jesus says, suffering what Jesus suffers, and finding joy in who Jesus is.

It’s easy to see what following Jesus meant for the disciples during His ministry on earth. But the gospels make clear that following Jesus is to be the pattern of our lives now that Jesus has ascended into heaven.

The last words of Jesus that John records are His words to Peter, “Follow me!” (Jn. 21:22). The call of Jesus to us is the same as His call to these first disciples: “Follow me.”

How will you respond to Jesus? Are you willing to go where Jesus goes, do what Jesus does, believe what Jesus says, suffer what Jesus suffers, and find joy in who Jesus is?