Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said.

We do not follow Jesus so God will love us. God already does. Nor do we follow Jesus so that we will be rewarded with eternal life. Eternal life is God's free gift.

Maybe we follow Jesus in order to discover how much God already loves us. But, I must warn you. If you truly follow him, your life will change. You will see the world differently, and will be compelled to make a difference in the world.

You will want to do all you can to help, I mean really help. Your voice will join others who cry out for God's justice. We might disagree on what that is and how to correct injustice, but you will want to be a voice. Your hands will join others who offer bread to the hungry, who hold the hands of the lonely, the sick, and the dying. Your feet will go to people who live without hope. You will be compelled to offer them hope and light, the hope and light found in Christ. Your heart will go to the isolated, marginalized, outcasts, and you will be called upon to embrace them with God's arms, and love them with God's heart. You will be called upon to offer God's grace and forgiveness to those who have hurt, injured, and even destroyed lives. Your life will be changed. Changed to offer Jesus to everyone you know, and those you meet. It won’t be easy, and you will have to take stands. Many of these people are your friends.

Those who follow Jesus are called to personify his teachings. Recently a quote was shared with me from a book entitled, Living Simply by Murray Sheard. In this book he writes, "To mouth the words of Jesus is religious; to act them out is revolutionary."

If you profess Jesus to be the Christ, what difference are you going to make in the revolution of Jesus in our world today? If you profess to be a follower of Jesus, where is he leading you? Think about it. Pray about it. Do it.