The Calling

 

    People crowded around Jesus where ever he went.  They followed him to try to get a miracle or see a miracle.  They made a spectacle of him.  However a true follower goes with him through the hard times as well as the good times.  Then out of those, there are some with a special calling that will make them stand out even more.

    Jesus had several disciples, but only 12 apostles.  It was the 12 that got the special calling from Jesus.  He was inviting them to have a special friendship with him.  They would get first hand knowledge and wisdom.  He brought them in where they were and helped them grow into powerful people.  However, they were still human, so they still failed sometimes.  Jesus used that to teach us all about forgiveness and moving on.

    Jesus had so many people around him everywhere he went, that he had to be creative to create a little distance, so he could help and teach everyone that wanted to hear what he said.  He was smart about it, he created theatre like locations, so that everyone could hear his voice clearly without killing each other to get closer to him.  It was important because he was teaching repentance which is the most vital aspect to Christianity after faith.  

    Jesus' first apostles recruited were fishermen.  He recruited them with the promise of teaching them how to catch people.  It is like the saying you can give a person a fish and they have a meal, or you can teach a person how to fish and they will never go hungry again.  Jesus' concept was like that, but for souls.  They recognized the fact and dropped everything to follow him.  Jesus can only teach those willing to listen and learn, but faith can't be taught.  It is something you have or you do not have.  His apostles had it, but it still had to grow and develop.

    Jesus loves people, but sometimes he had to escape to be able to talk with his father.  This teaches us the importance of prayer.  If Jesus, the son of God, needed to take time to be alone with God, then why should we not need to take more time.  We need it more than we need air.

    The calling that Jesus has for all of us is to learn how to forgive, so that we can find forgiveness and healing.  Jesus knows your heart, but he knows the heart of everyone else too.  He knows how to fix broken relationships.  We just have to allow him to work within us.  That may be why Jesus' next recruit was a tax collector.  Jesus showed him how to move forward by letting go of what was the real problem in his life.  He could live differently, he just had to accept Jesus' invitation and he did.  

    You can't experience the true blessing of being a Christian until you are willing to step out in faith.  You have to be willing to risk everything to follow Jesus.  You may lose everything, but what you get to fill all the holes of losing things of the world is far better and more gratifying.  Sometimes you have to lose everything to find what you really need.  Let go of perfectionism, always needing to be right, self grandeur, rituals, being religious, or comfort so you can hear Jesus' true calling for your life.

    Jesus came for those that needed him.  He came for those that needed every type of healing, but especially soul healing.  Those that think that they are perfectly fine, he can't reach until they are broken.  Those are not the people that he came to heal, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to.  The fact is that he will not force himself upon anyone even if it would be better for them if he did.  We have free will and we have to make the choice.

Luke 5