Fully Devoted

Fully Devoted

I was recently looking at the Gospel of Matthew and thinking about how Jesus chose His Disciples. His standard was different from what you and I would consider normal.

Today, if a church leader was looking to surround himself with a group of men who would change the world, he would go straight into the best seminaries and the biggest churches.

That’s not what Jesus was looking for. Jesus wasn’t looking for the brightest, the smartest, the biggest, the strongest, the most spiritual or even the most religious. None of those things were on His checklist.

So, what was He looking for? He was looking for men who would totally commit themselves to Him. Look at these two verses that describe the responses of the first four disciples:

Matthew 4:20

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

Matthew 4:22

“Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”

They were trained to sail ships and haul nets - not to teach the great truths of God. But, they didn’t hesitate. They didn’t stop to argue or negotiate. They didn’t ask why and they didn’t count the cost. They just went.

That’s what was most important to Jesus. He had followers who were totally sold out for Him. They were in it for better or for worse.

In John 6, there came a time when many of Jesus’ followers left Him. The 12, however, stayed when everyone else left. When Jesus had only those 12 remaining, He asked them why they didn’t leave. Peter answered with the only words he could muster:

John 6:68-69

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have Words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

That’s a pretty good reason to stay, isn’t it?

Can I tell you something about myself? I have found the Truth, people. There is no more doubting, for me; no wavering, no second guessing. I am home and I am not leaving.

Thank you, Jesus, for taking me in and for being there for me.