Getting to ‘Yes’ when Jesus says: ‘Come, follow Me’
Christianity
Getting to ‘Yes’ when Jesus says: ‘Come, follow Me’
The story of Abram in Genesis 12:1–4 has blown my mind since reading it as a Christian 16 years ago. Abrams actions were so brave. So incredible. While I get to see the impact of Abram’s decision several thousand years later, Abram didn’t have that. He had to figure it out.
How did Abram get too ‘Yes’?
It reminds me of another remarkable ‘Come, follow me’ moment. The story of Matthew the Tax Collector, recorded in Matthew 9:9. Sitting in the tax office, Matthew had every reason to ignore this call, yet he didn’t. He ‘arose and followed Him.’
How did Matthew get too ‘Yes’?
Seven months ago I found myself in a similar situation. I found myself with a distinct call from Jesus to step away from what I was doing and follow Him. Suddenly these connection moments between an eternal, incredible God and every day people took on a new vibrancy.
The question of how they ‘Got to Yes’ became ‘How do I get to Yes?’
Here’s my story and I hope it helps ❤
Genesis 12:1–4
God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you.
I’ll make you a great nation and bless you
I’ll make you famous;
You’ll be a blessing
I’ll bless those who bless you;
Those who curse you I’ll curse.
All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him.
Is Jesus Able?
It’s a critical question.
I would often wonder how Abram navigated this call. Was it an immediate ‘Let’s do this’ and away he went? Was there some uncomfortable discussions with his wife — “Hey babe, I’ve got this rather vague promise from this God I’ve been talking about, we need to leave everything we know…”
The passage of scripture is rather vague about how Abram got to Yes.
As a result, I had to explore my own answer to this question. I discovered that it’s one thing to believe Jesus is conceptually able to deliver on theoretical scenario’s in life, or for a faith in a vague sense of ‘goodness’ or ‘righteousness’ being achieved.
It’s an entirely different thing when I’m trusting Him to hold me while He works out His plans through my life. Standing in that place is exciting, invigorating, scary and terrifying all at once. The intensity of our lives experiences are magnified by the knowledge that I’m trusting this amazing Saviour with everything.
In the end, I realised that I had three sub-questions to answer:
- Is Jesus real to me? I’m not talking about a belief in Higher Power or distant Master Designer of the Universe. I had to answer Yes to the belief that Jesus was real to me personally. That He was talking to me personally.
- Is Jesus capable of delivering on His intent? I had to resolve in my heart whether I believed that Jesus is entirely capable of delivering on His intent.
- Is Jesus’ way more effective than my own? I had to reconcile that no matter how much research, investigation and reading I did, Jesus’ way would always be a more effective path than my own.
The good news is that there’s nothing wrong with these questions. There’s a wonderful intimacy in openly and honestly working through these questions with Jesus. My journal became full of wonderful conversations and observations as I dove deep into knowing this amazing Saviour closer. I discovered for myself that today, several thousands of years later, Jesus continues to call me and everyone around me to ‘Come, follow me’. I discovered that His call is just as powerful, wonderful and remarkable as it was then.
And He’s calling you right now ❤
It’s the start of getting too Yes.
What are Jesus’ Intentions?
Ever heard/seen the story of those tricky characters who promise amazing things, but always have some kind of sneaky intention hidden in their words? Maybe it’s the story of dishonest genies who hide their intent while ‘technically’ answering wishes. If you’re into The Wheel of Time series, maybe it’s the Aes Sedai and their ability to twist the truth.
Imagine if that was my perspective when Jesus says, ‘Come, follow me’.
I’d be constantly trying to out-think, out-play and out-manoeuvre Him. Any statement would be interpreted through the lens of cynicism, mistrust and fear. Getting to Yes would be almost impossible; so full of conditions it would be more like a legal contract than a whole-hearted commitment.
Jesus is the exact opposite of this kind of trickster. The Saviour in the Bible is unrelenting in His pursuit of relationship and intimacy with us. He’s whole hearted. From the very first introduction in Genesis, to achieving our redemption through death on a cross, and then His triumphant ascendance in Revelations, Jesus’ pursuit of relationship and intimacy with us is profound, total and unstoppable. John 3:16–17 says it like this:
This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
However, I discovered that my past experiences left me some hangups in this area. I’ve gotten things wrong in relationships, and I’ve had wrong things done to me. We’ve all got wounds and traumas which impact our instinctive responses to relationship and intimacy, and I was no different.
Getting too ‘Yes’ when Jesus says, ‘Come Follow Me’ meant I had to dive into these instinctive responses and do some work. I had to sit down and acknowledge these hangups and engage in the healing experience.
The results were transformative. My marriage went to a new level. My innate sense of confidence became steadfast and deeper. I experienced forgiveness, and forgave many others on a level far deeper than I ever knew was even possible.
Most precious to me was the discovery of Jesus’ intentions towards me. Jesus was before me, beside me and all around me. On the days I experienced amazing breakthroughs, He was there celebrating with me. When I felt crippled by hurt and remembered pain, He was there walking with me. He wasn’t intimidated by my mess or my triumph.
I discovered that His intentions towards me are good, pure and wholehearted. He doesn’t play games. He’s always beside me. I lived 1 John 4:19:
We, though are going to love — love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
And He’s right here, right now, asking if you’d like to experience Him like this too ❤
It was my next step of getting to Yes.
His Story, Not My Story
My final insight in Getting to Yes was a change in perspective. For whatever reason, I’d always read Abram and Matthew’s stories as ‘their’ stories. In a sense they are.
However, they’re even more a story of Jesus.
Both Abram and Matthew chose to subsume their stories into Jesus’ story. They chose to take what they had and submit it to the story of an eternal, perfect, loving God delivering on His plan for intimacy and relationship with humanity.
Abram chose to give up what appears to have been a comfortable existence in Haran at the age of 75 and set off a grand adventure. Matthew chose to give up what was most likely a pretty comfortable existence as a tax collector in the Roman Empire and set off to follow Jesus. Both of their histories became part of Jesus’ story.
History is a story of Jesus.
This stopped me in my tracks. Framed this way I realised that Jesus’ call to ‘Come, Follow Me’ is an invitation to subsume my story into Jesus’ story. It’s an invitation to submit my story to the story of an eternal, perfect, loving God delivering on His plan for intimacy and relationship with humanity.
That’s amazing!
And you know what? That call is open and available for you too!
Getting to ‘Yes’
It was this final perspective which got me to Yes. The previous questions set up the groundwork by addressing my belief and perception of Jesus, but the revelation that history is a story of Jesus changed everything.
I looked at the story of Abram and Matthew and wondered if that was their realisation as well. That the statement ‘Come, follow me’ was so much deeper and more meaningful than I’d first thought. It was an invitation to be a part of something extraordinary, eternal and supernatural.
It was an invitation to surrender and be part of something which continues to change the world ❤
Best of all — you too can be a part of Jesus’ story. No matter who you are and no matter where you are. If you’re interested, why not check out this link and say Yes to Him.
My experience has been incredible, and I’m confident yours will be too ❤
