“And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the seat of custom, and said unto him, Follow me.  And he arose and followed him.” (Mark 2:14 KJV).  

The invitation Jesus extended to Matthew is the same he offers  to us: “Follow me.”   It is interesting to note that Jesus did not ask him to join the movement, or to join the group or to become a part of the cause.  His invitation was clear, direct, simple and yet profound:  “Follow me”.

That is the  essence of  the Christian life.  It is not just being a part of a movement or being part of a group or engaging in a cause.  It is simply “Following Him.”  He does not ask us to lead.  He does not ask us to take charge. He simply asks us to follow Him. We often complicate what it means to be Christian.  We sometimes offer others our own particular set of rules and regulations. Without realizing it, we want others to be conformed to us. We want others to conform to our church or to our particular tribe. When in reality, we are simply called to Follow Jesus. The amazing thing is that is that when we simply “Follow Him” He brings about amazing transformation!  In fact it is impossible to “Follow Jesus” and not be transformed.   

One of the reasons so few follow Jesus is because they still want to be in charge. They want to be in control. They want to lead. They do not want to follow. And they do not want to be transformed.  You see Following Jesus is the same as it has always been.  We must leave where we are in order to go to where He is.  We must leave where we are in order to arrive to where He is going.  

When Jesus invites us to follow, we each must make the choice.  Will we follow Him or not?  He does not drive us.  He does not coerce us.  He does not push us.  He simply asks us to come and follow Him. And if we choose to follow, He then supernaturally provides everything that is needed to do so.  

When Matthew accepted the invitation to follow Jesus, everything changed. His occupation changed. His walk changed. His status changed. His entire life changed. He would never be the same again. And some 2,000 years after he accepted the invitation, Matthew is still remembered as one who Followed Jesus!  Had he not followed, it is very likely that no one would even know who he is!  

Rev. James W. Black