Jesus Called Disciples

Jesus called the men who became his disciples very deliberately.  It is true that when he was preaching, the call was given to all, but the invitation to follow closely came face to face.  Some came to him and asked to follow that he sent home.  He reminded one man that he did not have a place to live.  He told one to go home to take care of his father and the family.  Matthew 8:18-22 lists some of the costs of discipleship.  

Everyone was called, but some were called to stay home.  They had heard the teaching and received the blessing, and that was enough.  Read the passages again.  Not everyone was called to follow, but all were called to believe.

Mark 5:1-20 tells the story of a man who was tormented by demons and lived isolated among the tombs in the land of the Gadarenes.  Jesus delivered him of the demons, and he regained his senses.  He was grateful and asked Jesus if he could follow him, but the Lord sent him as a messenger to his friends and family in the country of Decapolis.  He was a disciple who did not follow, but was sent.

John 4 tells how Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well whose obedience became an example for us in telling people about him. She went to people who knew her history and her sins.  She proclaimed him to them even though they might discount her testimony.  After they met Jesus and heard him speak, they were convinced by his words that he was the savior they sought.  Then they testified to the woman that they indeed believed her witness.

Some are called to preach or teach God’s Word, and some are called to drive a bus or sell fruit, but all are called to live his Gospel in the world and share his love in righteousness daily.