I’m often struck by how freely the disciples were willing to drop everything and follow Christ. With a simple command, that could almost be interpreted as a request, Jesus simply says “follow me” and they instantly drop everything and follow him. An example of this comes in Matthew 9:9 which says:
"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. 'Follow me.' He told him, and Matthew got up and followed him."
There are parables of others whom Jesus wanted to follow him. And in these stories, they made excuses why they couldn’t follow him, or at least, why they couldn’t right away. But the main twelve followed him right away, without question and without hesitation. We as believers are also called to follow him, and even those who have yet to believe. I believe that Matthew became a true believer along the way as he saw Jesus being the messiah. So, if you are wondering to yourself if what everyone is saying about Jesus true; can he really give you a new life, one that has purpose here on earth and promises eternal salvation after death? Do what Matthew did. Don’t hesitate, follow him. The Holy Spirit is calling, and there is never a good excuse to deny him. And if you are a believer, think on what it means to follow Christ. I believe that following is more than simply believing. Following him is joining him in his ministry - his ministry to seek and save the lost. Sure, we don’t have the power to save the lost, but the Holy Spirit does. And he lives inside of us. So, we can do the seeking and the Holy Spirit can do the saving by using us as obedient servants.
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In the bible, Jesus didn’t tell everyone he met to follow him. As a matter of fact, some wanted to follow him, but Jesus knew that they weren’t ready, equipped or didn’t have the mentality for that specific calling. But you can be sure that he is calling everyone now to follow him. Not to physically walk with him in his human form like the disciples did, but to follow what he did. We are to be like Jesus. And with that in mind, the phrase, “follow me” has a significantly different connotation than the literal sense. I encourage you, whether you have committed to trusting your life to Jesus or are searching for the truth, follow him. Follow his example, follow his commands, and teach others to do the same.