“Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ And they left their nets at once and followed Him.” – Matthew 4:19-20
When Jesus comes to you, He does so because He loves you. And because He loves you, He desires to change you. You see, prior to you knowing Jesus, and before you followed Jesus, there was a lot that needed to be changed.
When Jesus came to Simon, he changed his name, and He gave him a new purpose. When He came to me as a young boy, He met me at my point of need, and He forgave me for my sins. He changed my life from the inside out. And because of that, I am a different person with a different purpose today!
When Jesus says, “Follow Me” that is another way of saying, “Change.” In verse 19 He says, “Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.” What Jesus was saying was, “Follow me and I will change you.”
Sometimes I feel like we miss what Jesus was really asking of them in that moment… He wasn’t saying, “let’s go on a stroll or hang out for a few minutes.” No, He was asking them to abandon everything they knew, the things that were most important to them, what they relied on to pay their bills, and what they depended on to feed their family.
Jesus was asking them by faith to pursue something they didn’t know. He was asking them to experience total abandonment and a full surrender to Him. You’ll never experience life change through Jesus without fully surrendering. That is what He was communicating when He extended His hand and said “follow me.”
That phrase, “follow me,” is better translated as “come” or “come after me.” It is the same word found in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
That is what He was saying, “Come on!” “Come here!” “Follow me!” “Trust me” “Surrender your life to me,” and things will change.
Are you ready to come to Jesus? Are you ready for Him to change your life? It starts with changing you. He is ready… are you ready?