Scripture for February 25, 2023 – Luke 5:27-32
“Follow Me”
Don’t you love scripture where Jesus calls the sinners to be with Him? After all, who doesn’t love an invitation to belong, to come on the journey? Thankfully, there are so many times in the Bible where we hear the words “Follow Me,” including here in Luke 5:27.
However, this time, these verses in Luke’s Gospel strike me a bit different. Yes, God is calling me to follow Him, which is wonderful, but I find myself asking, how will I respond to His call? I know deep down it isn’t enough to simply hear it and recognize His voice. I must get up and actually follow Him. I need to respond like Levi. He heard God’s call, left everything behind, got up and followed.

How do I respond? Honestly, sometimes I find it all too easy to desire to simply rest in the loving call of our Lord. Sometimes I want to linger and soak it in before jumping up to take action. I want to take a minute and ponder the love that overwhelms me as I hear God call to me.
But Jesus doesn’t call sinners to Him for them to remain sinners. He calls them to a life of repentance and discipleship. To accept His invitation to follow Him, I need to get up and know that this feeling of overwhelming love will be with me every step of my journey following Jesus. It not a time to relax and rest, it’s time to live as the disciple He is calling me to be. The disciple he created me to be. I need to allow His invitation to change my life.
Ponder
How do I respond to Jesus’ call? Does my response to this encounter with Him change my life in the way it should?
Prayer
Lord, Thank you for calling me to follow you. Please help me respond to your invitation with my whole heart and live as your disciple. Amen.