Thought of the Day !!

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth.  "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him.  So Matthew got up and followed him.
                                               Matthew 9:9 (NLT)

Jesus is walking along the road in Galilee.  He sees Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth where he would collect taxes for the Romans and for himself as well.  In 1st Century Palestine tax collectors were hated by the populous for being traitors and cheats.  They worked for Rome and typically got rich at the people’s expense.

Jesus chooses this guy to help him spread his message.  Not a real good business plan.  Everyone knows you wouldn’t go out and hire someone people hate to convince them to buy into something.  But of course Jesus isn’t everybody is he?

Jesus calls Matthew to give up a life of comfort for a life of uncertainty.  He calls him to give up a home for not knowing where he would sleep night after night.  He calls him to give up material possessions so that he could be heir to a fortune.  And Matthew drops everything and follows.

This takes absolute commitment.  Today we often times look for the easier way or the short cuts.  Then we don’t have to commit as much of our time or efforts to anything.  And to be quite honest I think way too many of us have tried to take short cuts in following Jesus.  We want rewards without the work.  We want the relationship without the hassle.  So we commit just enough time to “Church” without committing our lives totally to Christ.

Following Christ takes total commitment.  Are you willing to go all in to follow Jesus as your Lord?

In the love of Christ,
greg