When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles. Luke 6:13
My lunch appointment was set for 11:30. A guy named Chuck had called for this meeting. I said yes because he sounded desperate and had offered to buy.
The quick trip to the restaurant was enjoyable. Why wouldn’t it be? I was riding in a brand-new, hunter-green Porsche with tan leather seats that smelled like heaven. And Chuck seemed like a nice guy. I wonder what this is about, I couldn’t help but think as we made small talk about the weather. And his car.
When we found a quiet spot at the local hangout, Chuck wasted no more time with small talk. “My wife and I have been coming to your class for a couple of months,” he started. “We haven’t gone to church for years, but our sons are beginning to ask me questions about life, so I thought church might be a good idea.” My new friend hesitated, then finally blurted out, “Robert, I’m lost.”
The previous Sunday, I had taught in my adult Sunday school class that men and women who aren’t following Christ as the Master of their lives are lost. Chuck was referring to that kind of lostness. Until we finished eating, all we talked about was what it meant to follow Christ. Two days later, Chuck called my office to tell me that he had decided to follow Jesus and to ask Christ to forgive him of his sins.
Ten years later, Bobbie and I were enjoying dinner with Chuck and his wife, Penny. The ministry God had given this couple over the past decade in our town had been unbelievable. Many people had also decided to follow Christ by this couple’s strong witness. “I’m going to seminary,” Chuck told us that night, his eyes welling up with tears of joy. “There’s no doubt in our hearts that we are being called into vocational Christian ministry,” he continued. “Now we’re in the process of selling our lives—our home, our business, even the Porsche.”
Jesus called twelve men to follow Him. Little is said about what these men left behind, but there’s no doubt it was significant. And although the words Jesus spoke in the verses we read today were delivered to a large crowd, isn’t it interesting that while He was talking to all the folks, He was actually “looking up at his disciples” (v. 20)? Of course, He was.
The disciples knew what it was like to leave the familiar to follow Jesus. “I know that you feel poor, you feel hungry, you feel sad, and you feel rejected,” Jesus said in His usual cut-to-the-chase way. “But hang in there. Following Me will guarantee you a set of kingdom keys, satisfaction, laughter, and a lavish inheritance. Trust Me,” He seemed to be saying.
Choosing to be God’s man in your home, in your town, or in your workplace may not earn you any immediate or visible rewards. You may experience rejection, alienation, and loneliness because of this decision. But Jesus’s promise to you and me is certain.
What we see today isn’t all there is. Someday, because of this partnership with our Savior, we will “rejoice . . . and leap for joy” (v. 23). Many men have gone before us; they experienced this same uncertainty, and because they are with their heavenly Father today, their satisfaction is complete—hot cars that smell of fine leather and free lunches for all of eternity.