To respond; not just to know

Oh, my goodness, gracious me! It has been way too long since I last wrote on here. I have, however, been persevering with my journalling (I know that’s not a word), which is a feat in itself. The amazing thing is that I haven’t filled my journal with hyperbole – I haven’t been unnecessarily hard on myself. Instead, I have been brutally honest. The pages are for my eyes only, so I’m not writing to impress, criticise or seek approval; I’m just writing.

God has spoken to be through my writings. He has rebuked me, encouraged me but, best of all, shown that he loves me. Love – that is, agape – has been a frequent topic that I’ve explored in my writing. It’s scary to see how little I show that form of true selfless love in my everyday life. I’m too selfish, too arrogant, too prideful, always rushing. God help me.

This past week I have been reflecting on the calling of Jesus’ Disciples, in particular on the calling of Andrew. Mark 1:16-18 in the NIV says:

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

This occurred after the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Now check out John 1:35-42a:

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Re-read the passages and focus on Andrew.

When Jesus said to Andrew to come and follow him, Andrew didn’t get up and start following a man he’d never heard of before. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and was standing beside John when John said “look, the Lamb of God!” If you take a look at Luke 4 you will read that Jesus had already been active in the surrounding area, healing and exorcising evil spirits. I contend that Jesus’ would have been heard of by many. Gossips are alive in every generation and word of Jesus’ activities would have spread quickly. Then, from Andrew’s point of view, whenever his master (John the Baptist) proclaimed that Jesus was the one Israel had been waiting for, Andrew knew precisely what that meant. It wasn’t a decision to blindly follow some random bloke; it was a deliberate decision to follow the Chosen One, the Christ, Israel’s Messiah!

Why did I write all that? Well, notice the change in Andrew’s behaviour before and after Christ’s call to him. Beforehand, he was happily following his own master. Yes, he knew about Jesus and had heard of his power but he’d never met Jesus. Then, something happened: Jesus called out to Andrew and asked him to commit his life to him; asked him to let his feet be covered by Jesus’ dust (as early Jewish literature describes the role of the disciple). Andrew responded immediately, but not impulsively, because he knew who Jesus was.

It is one thing to know about Jesus; it a totally different thing to respond and commit one’s life to him.