God Is The One Pursuing Us

Darrin Patrick:

When you’re reading the Bible, have you ever had that moment when you come across a spot in the text and just go “Uhh. That’s weird. That doesn’t make sense!” By the way, if you never have that experience, you aren’t reading the Bible!

The call of the first disciples is one of those moments. Jesus approaches two brothers, Andrew and Simon, as their fishing. He calls them to follow him because he’s going to make them fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). And they immediately leave their nets and follow him. Who does that? Who just goes up to random people like that? And what possessed these brothers to follow?

Now, if you try to read that through the lens of our contemporary culture, that whole scene is puzzling. But there’s a context to this call to discipleship. In the first century, if you wanted to be mentored by a rabbi, you would go to his school. You’d immerse yourself in his training. You would memorize a ton of verses. You would have to discern the interpretive take the rabbi had on scripture. Then agree to it. And then, after a period of time, you would ask to be his disciple. If he agreed, you would be apprenticed where you would learn to live like that rabbi, believe like that rabbi, and apply that rabbi’s teaching to your life.

This is not a bad vision for discipleship, by the way. But here Jesus turns this entire process on its head. He doesn’t wait for the disciples to pursue him. He goes after them. He calls them. And this is consistent with many other verses, but one that especially comes to mind is John 15:16. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain.”

Jesus is the one that initiates, who seeks, who pursues. It’s his call. As much as you might want to trust Jesus and live like him, he wants it more. And that’s really good news, because it’s really not about our commitment to him. It’s about his commitment to us.

When you see that it’s God’s call, you’re able to relax your grip on life. We’re actually enabled to follow in Jesus’ strength. We love him, the Bible says, because why? He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Jesus calls us before we call him.

Source: It's God's Call

Books by Darrin Patrick

Church Planter

Dude's Guide to Manhood

For The City with Matt Carter

Replant with Mark DeVine