“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
— Mark 1:17 NIV
I know a little something about following.
It’s kind of what dogs do.
My human gets up from his chair, I get up.
He walks toward the kitchen, I follow.
He heads toward the car, I’m suddenly moving considerably faster.
And if he walks anywhere near the place where the treats are kept…
Well, let’s just say I become a very devoted follower.
But I’ve noticed something while watching my human read that Bible of his.
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
Not admire Me.
Not agree with Me.
Not follow Me when it’s convenient.
Not, “Figure everything out.”
Not, “Get your life completely together.”
Not even, “Here’s a detailed map of everywhere we’re going.”
Just…
“Follow Me.”
I’ve watched my human try to do that.
Some days it looks like reading his Bible with coffee in hand.
Some days it looks like praying when he doesn’t know what else to do.
But I’ve learned that following Jesus isn’t just something he does in that chair.
It follows him out the door.
All that sounds simple.
But simple and easy aren’t always the same thing.
See, when I follow my human, I don’t always know where we’re going.
Sometimes it’s the porch.
Sometimes the nearby field
Sometimes the veterinarian.
I’m considerably less enthusiastic about that last one.
But I follow because I trust the one I’m following.
Maybe that’s the lesson.
Following Jesus means trusting Him enough to go where He leads—even when we don’t know where the road ends.
And I’ve been watching the world lately.
There’s a lot of noise out there.
Everybody seems to be following somebody.
Politics.
Popularity.
Money.
Success.
Social media.
The latest outrage.
The loudest voice.
Humans can spend so much time following everything else that they forget the One who simply said,
“Follow Me.”
My human says following Jesus ought to change the way we live.
It means loving people when loving them isn’t easy.
Forgiving when we’d rather hold a grudge.
Serving when nobody is watching.
Giving when nobody applauds.
Standing for truth without forgetting grace.
Helping the hurting.
Sitting beside the lonely.
Feeding the hungry.
Praying for the person who gets on our last nerve.
Following Jesus isn’t just something we talk about on Sunday morning.
It’s Monday morning.
And Tuesday afternoon.
And Friday night.
It’s how we treat the waitress.
How we talk about people who disagree with us.
How we respond when we’ve been wronged.
How we love our neighbor.
How we carry Jesus into a world that desperately needs to see Him.
Jesus is still walking.
Still calling.
Still saying the same two words He said beside the Sea of Galilee:
“Follow Me.”
The question isn’t whether we heard Him.
The real question is whether we’re willing to get up and follow Him.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
