When Jesus invited a motley crew of fisherman and tax collectors to follow Him, He invited them to follow Him and “become fishers of men” (Mt. 4:19).
It seems odd that He doesn’t invite them to follow Him so they can go to heaven, so He can meet their needs, or so He can teach them great things since these “benefits of following Christ” seem to be the message most of our churches share.
Jesus does not invite us to follow Him for what we can get, but He invites us to follow Him for what we can give! We can be a part of serving, loving, and reaching the people around us!
We need to trust Jesus when He says, “If you lose your life in serving others, that is when you find your life” (Mt. 10:39).
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eric –
fantastic post! and you are so right…
the people that get this truth are the people who have all the fun following Jesus…and, see Him do things in and through them that they never dreamed possible. i guarantee those disciples had no idea what they were signing up for when they agreed to follow Jesus!
thanks for sharing this.
How true. In church we can get so caught up in “What’s in it for me/you?” theology. I think that turns a lot of people off because it’s a very consumer oriented mindset. Now, you tell people that there is something they can be a part of and contribute to… a story they can be a player in that is bigger than themselves… that’s attractive.
Eric, what a great, simple way to state the mission of Jesus followers. Love it. Thanks!
thanks for the simple straight reminder
Great word, yet a word rarely taught in our churches.
It’s a lot harder to live life that’s driven by “giving”, especially in a society that’s driven by “getting”.
Amazing.
loved this post…even linked to it yesterday hope that was ok…awesome
OH that is awsome