Come, Follow Me

“Come, follow me"

Jesus Christ asked one thing of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. In the gospel of Matthew, He came to the two brothers while they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, and they saw him, this man that they had never seen before.

He commanded them; "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19 RSVCE) And do you know what they did? Without hesitation, the two brothers dropped their nets and did just that; they followed him.

There is no doubt that that took an incredible amount of courage and bravery. They were essentially leaving behind their lives, but they knew that following Jesus meant that they were going to live. Peter and Andrew both went on to be two of Jesus’s apostles. Peter became the first pope, the rock that the Lord built his church upon, and Andrew was crucified like Jesus on a cross that was shaped like an X rather than a T.

Ten chapters later, we see Peter placing that blind trust in Jesus once again. Jesus showed himself to the apostles, who were in a boat on a lake, and he revealed his power by walking on the water. Peter leapt into the water and made for his Lord, wanting to be as close to him as physically possible.

Why don’t we leap out of the safety of the boat into the swirling waters and whipping winds?

When Peter saw the winds, he was scared and began sinking, but Jesus immediately reached out his hand and saved Peter. He said “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” He may be asking Peter, but he also is asking us. We have to trust him enough to jump into that water and run to him. He won’t let you drown. He won’t let the winds blow you away. You will not regret following him, but you have to jump out of the boat.

Look at The Hand of God, a painting by Yongsung Kim. This piece of art was painted from the perspective of Peter, unlike most depictions of this story that are designed from a third-person perspective. He’s reaching out to you too. His hand is always there, wanting to welcome you into his arms. He wants to save you.

Now take a look at His Hand is Stretched Out Still also by Yongsung Kim. This one is for you. All you have to do is take his saving hand.

Natalie Grant’s song “Hurricane” says “It’s never too late, never too far, for you to reach out, and take a hold of love.”

Our human minds can’t even begin to imagine the joy and splendor that is waiting for us when we accept the Lord’s call. Personally, it took me a while to accept the Lord’s call, but now that I have, and have created The Jesus in My Heart, I’m never happier than when I’m working on it.

It’s scary, there’s no doubt about that. Peter leapt into stormy waters, away from the safety of the boat. We must follow Peter’s footsteps and take a leap of faith for God.

We all have places in our lives that feel comfortable and familiar, but are keeping us from God. Whether that be your relationships, your job, or it could even be your mindset. The devil will use anything and everything against you, specifically things that are appealing. When Jesus spent his forty days in the desert with no food, the devil tempted him with food. We’re all human. We’re all going to stray away from the Light over and over again in our lifetime, but God is always calling us back to him. There’s no “three strikes, you’re out” rule. God never tires of seeing our faces turned towards him again, asking for his forgiveness.

YOUR CHALLENGE TODAY: Do a little reflecting on your life lately. What has been keeping you away from God? Is it your job that requires you to miss Mass? Is it your friends that insist it’s okay to go out partying rather than attending your Holy Hour? Is it yourself saying week after week that you’ll go to Bible study next week… okay, maybe next week… I swear I’ll go next week…? Begin taking steps to remove that from your life. Be more assertive and intentional in your faith, trust Jesus, and drop the nets that are weighing you down, just like Andrew and Peter did.