8 Responses to Christ’s Call

January 17, 2011 by

There are many responses to the call of Christ. The Scripture presents us a number of examples. Jesus says, “Follow Me,” and some men and women…

1. Are unwilling to (Matthew 22:3)
2. Pay no attention (Matthew 22:5a)
3. Go their own way (Matthew 22:5b)
4. Don’t realize the cost (Matthew 8:19-20)
5. Prioritize family commitments (Matthew 8:21-22)
6. Are distracted by day-to-day activities (Matthew 22:5c)
7. Mistreat God’s messengers (Matthew 22:6)

With this in mind, I am grateful for (Simon) Peter. With all his failures and foibles, he got one thing right. (It’s the 8th response to Christ’s call.) Peter left everything and followed Jesus. (Luke 5:11)

And if we are to be our Lord’s disciple completely, we must do the same. We must leave everything of our own will. (Luke 22:42) We must leave everything of our inattention to God’s voice. (John 10:27) We must leave everything of going our own way. (Isaiah 55:8-9) We must leave everything of our not realizing the cost of being a disciple. (Mark 8:34) We must leave everything of our affection for family (in the sense that they cannot take priority over Christ). (Luke 14:26) We must leave everything of our own business dealings. (Mark 2:14) We must leave everything of our wrong attitudes towards ministers of God. (Acts 4:1-3)

Leave everything. It’s the only proper response to Christ’s call.

Above picture: © Matthieu Rielger, CC-BY, Wikimedia Commons

Filed Under: christian, christianity, discipleship, god, jesus, mother lode, salvation, sonora, teacher, tuolumne county, twain harte
About Pastor Mike

Pastor Mike is making the most of web technologies to encourage disciples. A self-proclaimed “twitterholic,” one twitter follower describes him as the “jogging, blogging, tweeting Pastor.” Visits to Pastor Mike’s blog (A Heart For God) number in the hundreds of thousands. His video blogs have been viewed over a half a million times.

Comments

  1. Batman says
    January 18, 2011 at 3:44 am

    Leave everything. Doesn’t imply, leave everything behind. Glad I saw this, as it’s been awhile since I’ve been here. Always good to hear a message in a timely manner, meaning, when I need it the most.

    Praise God!!!

  2. Kim Campagna says
    January 19, 2011 at 7:04 am

    Very good post. The best things to leave behind are everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Keep your eyes on Jesus, even as you “leave.”