The Calling

"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Phillip and said to him, 'Follow Me.' 44 Now Phillip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Phillip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' 46 And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Phillip said to him, 'Come and see.' 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!' 48 Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, ' Before Phillip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' 50 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you, "I saw you under the fig tree," do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' 51 And He said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'"

Admittedly, the title of this blog sounds more like a third-rate horror flick than a devotional about Jesus Christ. However, that does not discount the importance of what the Word has to say to us today. The very next day, after calling Andrew and Peter (and other gospels include James and John on this day), Jesus goes to Galilee, and found Phillip. But what Jesus says to Phillip, and what He says to you and to me, are the most important words for a believer. Jesus said to Phillip just two words: Follow Me. Now what is interesting to note here, what is most important to note here, is what Jesus didn't say. Jesus didn't say, "Follow the ministry of so-and-so." He didn't say, "Make sure you go to that church over there, or that church over here." He said, "Follow Me."

That is a word for all believers today. We need to follow Jesus. Not the caricature of what some churches have made Him out to be. We need to study the Bible and see who Jesus really was, and is. Jesus wants us to follow Him, not some doctrinal statement of some church. If your church says you need "Jesus and...." then perhaps you need a new church. That is what the Judaizers were telling the Philippians at the church in Philippi. Jesus was good, but they also needed the law of Moses, in this case, circumcision, to be true followers of Christ. Not so. Jesus didn't call His disciples to some statement of faith or doctrinal statement of some church. Those are made by man, in the traditions of man. Jesus wants us to follow Him. That is our calling. That is our purpose. That is our mission. Now, having said all that, I am not saying that statements of faith or doctrinal statements are wrong. They identify certain specifics about a particular church. But they are the basis of our faith.

Beloved, Jesus knows each and every one of us, just as He "saw" Nathanael under the fig tree, even before Phillip came and got him. And He sees each one of us, and loves us, and calls us, not to a church or a creed, but to Himself. Shalom.