An ABC of Faith

Following

I recall as a child hearing a male voice choir singing;

I walked one day along a country road,

And there a stranger journeyed, too,

Bent low beneath the burden of His load:

It was a cross, a cross I knew.

Refrain

"Take up thy cross and follow Me."

I hear the blesséd Saviour call;

How can I make a lesser sacrifice,

When Jesus gave His all?

And then there was the song that said,

Follow thou Me, He calls again,

And I will make you fishers of men;

As in the days by Galilee,

Jesus is calling you and me.

What does following mean to you? People follow their favourite football team, the fan their celebrity idol, the internet surfer their ‘influencer’.  But do these people really follow or is there more of a voyeuristic desire than a real desire to emulate the one who leads.

We are all familiar with Jesus Call to the disciples.  Here is how the message puts it, “Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.”

The bit that really puzzles me is that last sentence “The didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.” They leave behind all their security and means of livelihood and even their family. They follow Jesus in complete trust, unaware of where he is going or what will happen to them. Following Jesus is a liberating experience.

Yet the story is more symbolic than actual because we know that later they would return to their boats and their fishing and their family. What is most important is not just the external acts but the inner attitude. Can we follow Jesus in all the ordinary things of our day, the simple acts of caring for others, working hard in our jobs etc trusting that his hand is guiding us.

Perhaps we need to ask, What nets do I need to leave in order to follow Jesus wholeheartedly? What obstacles, what material attachments, what comfort zones have wound themselves so tightly around me that I cannot get up and follow him?

In your mind consider your following as you read this hymn by Catherine Baird

When Jesus looked o’er Galilee,

So blue and calm and fair,

Upon her bosom, could He see

A cross reflected there?

When sunrise dyed the lovely deeps

And sparkled in His hair,

O did the light rays seem to say:

A crown of thorns He’ll wear?

When in the hush of eventide

Cool waters touched His feet,

Was it a hymn of Calvary’s road

He heard the waves repeat?

But when the winds triumphantly

Swept from the open plain,

The Master surely heard the song:

The Lord shall live again!