Called to be with Jesus

We are often encouraged to identify our particular calling – to preach, to teach, or to evangelise. But I wonder if you’ve noticed that in Mark’s gospel the first call of the disciples was to be with Jesus, and then He sent them out to preach and to cast out demons. For each of us our prime call is to be with Jesus, set apart for Him, spending time with Him. All else will follow from our relationship with Him.

In this account Jesus went up on a mountainside and called those He wanted to come to Him. Presumably in order to respond to Him they had to leave the clamour of the crowds and the demands of the people below and go up higher to be separated and alone with Jesus.

Is Jesus calling you to go up the mountain to a higher level of intimacy with Him? That may mean temporarily separating yourself from the hubbub of life, leaving those things that clamour for your attention – even the good and worthwhile concerns that God may have given you in the past – in order to be with Jesus, to listen to Him and to hear His heart. If you do this as a priority, you’ll be able to do the things He is calling you to do.

In the story of Martha and Mary, Jesus told Martha that Mary had “chosen what is better” as she sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him (Luke 10:42). Will you choose what is better today, to go up the mountain to be with Jesus?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the times I have ignored Your call to be with You. I want to make it a priority to respond to You, to come up the mountain to be with You. Thank You that You want to be with me. Amen.