Follow Me

This weekend we have been working with a group of Costa Ricans who came to the Multiplication Center for something we call "Vista Previa" (Preview Weekend). Interested people spend time hearing about missions opportunities; getting exposed to the realities of cross-cultural ministry; and, are seeing the opportunity for taking some "next steps" in the process. This year we have purposely limited the number of participants, so that we might invest in those who are a bit more serious about taking those steps forward.

Yesterday I spoke to the nine participants about God using our personalities for His honor and glory. Susan shared about what it means to be called in God's work. Together we led a cross-cultural simulation that placed them in a new culture where they tried to share the Gospel. Today we celebrated the Lord's Supper together and Kari helped orient the candidates about where they go from here.

All of this has made me think about Matthew 9:9. The Williams New Testament translates it this way: "And as He was passing along from there, He saw a man named Matthew in his seat at the tax-collector's desk, and He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed Him."

My fevered (some say bizarre) imagination sees Matthew working over some obscure tax form used for paying customs in Capernaum. He looks up and sees this teacher that has been hanging out in town lately. Everybody is talking about the authoritative way in which He teaches. Jesus looks Matthew straight in the eye and makes His abrupt invitation. And, just as abruptly, Matthew decides to leave it all and follow Him.

In a way, Matthew's leaving was different than the other disciples. Many of them could go back to fishing or other subsistence activities. When Matthew left that incomplete tax form on his desk, there was no going back.

If we think the simplicity of this decision sounds a bit improbable, we forget that many major decisions are made this way.

In Vietnam my friend Jack had to make a quick decision as to whether or not he would save some Vietnamese boys' lives. In many ways, the choice he made changed the course of his life. At the beginning of our missionary career, Susan and I were planning on going to Austria. We made the decision to go to Bolivia on the basis of one phone call. Many of you reading this knew you were in love very early on in your relationship. In essence, you made a quick decision about the person with whom you were going to spend your life.

Matthew's decision can be broken down into two basic types of questions related to "follow" and "me." The same is true for us today.

Why should we follow? How far do we follow? Where do we follow Him? How much can we take along with us? What are we going to get if we follow Him?

The second type of question asks, “Who is this man asking us to follow Him? Can we trust Him? How can we find out more about Him?”

Of course if I think about my relationship with Susan, I realize that I did not come to fully understand her, to fully understand who she was (is!) and then choose to love her. No, at least in my case, the love came first and the understanding is still in the evolutionary process. My guess is that I will still be learning about her until the day we have to say good-bye here in this world or meet Him in the air.

Part of exercising our "faith muscles" is just taking the first step. To quote Frederick Buechner, " Faith is stepping out into the unknown with nothing to guide us but a hand just beyond our grasp. Faith is the word that describes the direction our feet start moving when we find that we are loved."

Matthew must have sensed that love when he stepped away from his desk forever. He didn't understand everything - only enough for the moment. According to tradition, Matthew died a martyr's death in Ethiopia. He didn't have to know that detail when he got up and put down the form on which he was working. He only had to see that "certain something" in Jesus that allowed him to take the first steps.

May we have grace to see some of the same something today as we look at Him.