Come, Follow, Go

‘Come, follow and go’. These were three commanding words Jesus used as He was leading, teaching and training His followers. They are words that apply to us as we seek to be His true disciples today.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus invites all who’re troubled and feel the burden of life to ‘come’ to Him and find rest from those pressures. It’s not a matter of finding an easy solution to the everyday pressures of life, but knowing, with His help, how to cope with such things.

In Matthew 4:19, Jesus called Peter and Andrew, ‘Come, follow me’. There was so much that Jesus had to show them of things that were different from the religion of the Pharisees of their day, the kind of things which could produce dramatic changes in people’s lives, giving new evidence of His power in their lives, and a new relevance and relationship with God.

Then in Matthew 28:19, Jesus’ final word to His disciples before He ascended to heaven was, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything I have commanded you’.
Today, it is so important that we, who call ourselves Christians, hear and respond to each of these calls of Jesus on our lives, however young or old we may be. It was as a child that the first call; ‘Come’ became effective in my own life. In teenage years onwards the ‘Follow’ became more challenging. Then in mid-life there came the ‘Go’, and that was where the effect of going and doing the kind of things Jesus spoke of became real experiences. It was through following the teaching and ministry Jesus practised, where applicable, that we saw dramatic changes and miracles in the lives of others.

If as Christians we believe that the power of God is the same today as it was when Jesus and those early disciples demonstrated it, I wonder why it is that there’s so little evidence of the power in many churches. The question is “Has God changed, or has the Church changed?”

Prayer: Father God, I thank You that Jesus came to call us to Himself, instructed us to follow Him in His teaching and ministry, and commissioned us to go to all humanity with the wonderful Gospel message of salvation, healing and wholeness. Thank You for every experience of witnessing You doing wonderful things in the lives of individuals in Jesus’ name, as we’ve taught and prayed for them. All the praise and glory belongs to You, Lord, and I rejoice in all that Jesus means to me. Amen.