What was it about Jesus that caused Andrew, Simon (Peter), James and John to walk away from everything and follow Him? It was, I believe, the compelling love and undeniable power they experienced in Jesus' presence.
I used to believe that Jesus just walked up to these fishermen, called to them to follow HIm and they just up and left without any discernible reason. Now, of course, I know that long before Jesus called him by Sea of Galilee, Andrew had, along with John (we think), spent an entire day with Jesus, and that day in His presence convinced both Andrew and John that Jesus was Messiah. So spending a day in Jesus’ presence led to an openness to “discipleship” for Andrew and John and probably Simon and James as well. And during that first encounter with Jesus, Simon experienced powerfully experienced Jesus’ love because it was in that first encounter that Jesus “rocked” Simon’s world by giving him a new name, “Rock”! (see John 1:35-42 for the whole story). So all four of these men who were later invited by Jesus to leave everything and become "fishers of men" were men who had first been touched by Jesus' love in some life-altering way.
Secondly, when Jesus gave the invitation to these men to leave all and follow Him, it was in the context of miraculous power. Before He gave the invitation to follow Him, He demonstrated His power by the miraculous catch of fishes that Simon experienced and led to his acute awareness of his sinfulness! (See Luke 5:1-11 for the whole story).
So what compelled these men to become His disciples? It was, in my opinion, the compelling love they (and most others) felt when in His presence, plus the unmistakable demonstration of His power.
So what you say? What if that is still the case? What if the reason “following Jesus” is so hard for most Christians is that they are doing so without a tangible encounter of His compelling love and an undeniable experience of His power that He brings when He comes? What if the the intended "method" for making disciples is to begin with an experience of Jesus' presence that oozes love and power? It is sad to me that so many people “try harder” to be followers of Jesus in a vacuum where He mostly an idea rather than an experienced, supernatural Presence. And I wonder if it would see more disciples (Dallas Willard calls them "apprentices") if the encounter we owe people with Jesus' love and power were our first means of invitation.
Just wondering...
Tom, one of Abba's children
3 comments:
Yes - that is interesting to think if you asked those disciples if they chose to follow right then because they loved or felt loved or whatever, I am not sure they would have acknowledged it as such. And I am not convinced either that they merely did it because of his displays of the miraculous 'per se.' But there was something there about Jesus - who He was, how He spoke, how He related to them - that captured their heart and compelled them to follow. The reason I explain it this way, is that looking back at my own experience of meeting Jesus and being called by Him to follow, I am not sure if I was aware of the extent of His love for me, and surely my own love was very shallow in many ways. But something about meeting Him captured and compelled my heart in a way that I denying His summons would have been unbearable. As I have followed and grown to understand what love is - in Him and in myself - I am still struck at how I must continue to hear that summons to follow, to stay ever close to His side - and let Him "capture my heart with a single glance." And of course now I realize that it is indeed the compelling love of God that drives it all. I think it is interesting that John, who probably had the most time to reflect on these things, had the most defined concept of God's love driving it all.
Hi, Tom,
Good insight on the disciples.
As I mused over the things you wrote. The Lord brought to mind the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 5: 14, “The love of Christ compels us” NKJV, “constraineth” KJV, “controls and urges, and impels” AMP and “controls” Greek-English Interlinear. Put with 2 Cor. 5: 15, we see it is His love that controlled, compelled, motivated, and was the driving force for them to no longer live for themselves, but for Him. This would go along with 1 Peter 4:1-3, vs. 2, “that we should no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God.” It is the love of Christ that compels, controls, and drives us that we should no longer live for ourselves in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for Him and for His will.
In Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians believers he wanted them to know by experience the love of Christ in the same way he had experienced the love of Christ (Eph.3: 16-19). He wanted them to know and be compelled and controlled by the same love as he was. Knowing His love and His fullness would compel and be the driving force behind every believers walk even compelling bondservants or slaves to obey their masters “doing the will of God from the heart.” (Eph.6:6). Receiving and experiencing His love produces obedience to Him and to His will. Our obedience or fulfilling our duty flows out of a loving relationship with hearts full of love for Him and for others (1 John 5:1-3).
If we choose to fulfill our duty or obedience out of our flesh, from a selfish way, it results in drudgery or hard work the end result is empty dead religion. Having a form of religion or godliness, void of life change power, going through the motions, but denying its life giving and life changing power (2 Tim. 3:5).
The fact is, always has been, and always will be that it is the love of Christ that compels us to live for Him. Therefore, let the love of Christ compel, control, and be the driving force and motivation behind everything we do as we live our lives for Him!
His nothing,
Jeff
Amen Tom
That has long been one of my favorite verses in the bible.
I responded to the gospel message and prayed for forgiveness because I knew I was a sinner and needed to repent. But my life did not change until I started to experience His presence in my life. When I felt the overwhelming need to get rid of all my adult magazines, when I felt the need to confess my sins to another brother. These were the marks that Gods power was working in my life.
The love of God, I think early on, we are supposed to experience through the fellowship of Christians. "They will know you are, who you say you are, by the way you respond to my love." (my paraphrase)
I think this is backed by scripture two ways. Paul in Corinthians says that we were not won by wise and persuasive words, but a demonstration of the power of the spirit. I also see Paul pray that the churches would grow in the knowledge of God's love, as that was so key to the discipleship process, Romans 12:1-2.
It is so good to hear your voice brother. Trust things are going well in your life.
Terry Rousseau
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