ODJ: follow Jesus

March 12, 2014 

READ: Mark 1:16-20 

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him (vv.17-18). 

Grandad was a gentle but firm primary school head teacher in Pretoria, South Africa. In my final year as a student teacher, he shared a few trade secrets with me. His advice on how to get a disruptive pupil out of the classroom and into isolation was most helpful: “Look the child in the eye and say with authority, ‘Follow me’, then turn and walk confidently out of the classroom while not looking back.” I tested his advice when dealing with an unruly adolescent and, though I doubted it would work, I soon heard him reluctantly following me.

Jesus wasn’t summoning disruptive or unruly students when He called the fishermen Simon and Andrew, but He did say, “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17). They left their nets immediately and walked behind Jesus, becoming His disciples (v.18). Later, when Jesus called the brothers James and John, they also followed, leaving their father Zebedee and his workers (vv.19-20).

One young man would not follow Jesus, the rich young ruler. He had obeyed the law, but something eluded him—eternal life (10:17). When Jesus told him to sell everything, give the money to the poor and follow Him, the man could not do it. His love of earthly riches held him enslaved to this world (vv.21-22).

Just as the unruly student recognised the authority of the teacher and the fishermen responded to the authority of Jesus, so should we respond to the authority of the Saviour as He calls us to follow Him. He doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life (John 16:33), but He does promise a rich and satisfying one (10:10).

In surrendering everything we hold dear on this earth, we gain the one thing the rich young ruler needed most—the true riches of eternal life. —Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day plan› Judges 15:1-20