The Call to Follow
Daily Scripture
Luke 5:27-32
27 Afterward, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
28 Levi got up, left everything behind, and followed him. 29 Then Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus in his home. A large number of tax collectors and others sat down to eat with them. 30 The Pharisees and their legal experts grumbled against his disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
When Jesus walked by Levi, he said two words, “Follow me,” and Luke tells us Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Not eventually. Not after he wrapped up a few things. Right then. What’s easy to miss is what following Jesus cost Levi. He didn’t have a backup plan if this whole “follow Jesus” thing didn’t work out. He couldn’t un-quit his job and expect his old life to still be waiting if he changed his mind.
The religious leaders grumbled about Jesus eating dinner with “sinners” like Levi that same night, which tells you Levi didn’t magically become respectable the moment he decided to follow Jesus. He simply decided that whatever Jesus was offering was worth more than the life he’d built to that point. That’s what choosing to follow Jesus often looks like. It isn’t always neat or comfortable, and the people around you may not understand the choices you’re making.
- Is there something Jesus is inviting me to leave behind that I’ve been holding onto because it feels safe or familiar?
- What would it look like for me to follow Jesus with greater trust today, even if I don’t have all the answers or guarantees?
- How much of my decision-making is shaped by a desire to please God versus a desire to gain the approval of others?
- What is one “next step” of faithful obedience I sense God calling me to take, even if it feels costly or misunderstood?
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for calling people exactly as they are and not waiting for them to clean up first. Give me the courage to get up and follow you today, even if I don’t have it all figured out. Amen.
