Left Behind

Left Behind

Read: Luke 5:27-28

“Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28

“Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.”

—Billy Graham

IN WORD Have you ever noticed that nearly every time someone follows Jesus, they leave something behind? Here, Levi leaves his tax booth. Peter and Andrew left their nets, and James and John left the boat and their father (Matthew 4:18-22). The woman at the well left her water jar (John 4:28). The man who found the “treasure hidden in a field” and the merchant looking for fine pearls sold all they had for the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:44-46). It is a subtle but consistent theme in the Gospels: To follow Jesus means to forsake something else.

This points to at least two truths that we need to cling to. First, the value of following Jesus surpasses anything we possessed before we knew Him. Whether we are preoccupied with our livelihood, our relationships, our interests, or our duties, when we really see who Jesus is, everything else pales in comparison. The items left behind in these passages are almost reported as an afterthought. These people did not seem to agonize over their decision; they were just too focused on something better. They were completely preoccupied with Jesus.

Second, following Jesus implies a radical rearrangement of all of life. Nothing is the same after we meet Him. He redirects us from our previous path. No one in the Gospels became a follower of Jesus and squeezed their discipleship in around their current lifestyle. The encounter was too earth-shattering for that. Everything was new.

IN DEED The greatest adventure a person can have is to follow Jesus without hindrances. When we try to pick up the trappings of our old life to carry with us, we soon find out that we follow at too great a distance. Jesus urges us onward, leaving all behind, with eyes focused entirely on Him. He calls us to a new way of life.