THE CALL

"Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. "
Mark 2:13-14

It is enlightening to see Levi's response to this call. Notice, when called, Levi didn't make a confession of faith in Jesus, instead Levi responded with immediate obedience--he followed.

Some commentaries I've skimmed over on this section suggest Levi had a prior knowledge of Jesus. The biblical text is silent on this important point as it is also silent on the psychological reasons for this man's or any man's decision to follow Christ. All I know from the text is there was a call by Jesus which was met by immediate obedience on the part of Levi. Whether, Levi had an understanding of who Jesus was prior to the call is simply not known. To this point, Bonhoeffer, with inspired wisdom, makes the statement; "the simple reason behind Levi's immediate following in obedience is Jesus Christ Himself. It is Jesus who called, and because it is Jesus Levi follows at once."

I noted also that Levi was not told where he was going, what he would be doing, or what to bring with him. There was no mention of how long he would be gone. Jesus did not offer how he should follow or in what manner to come after Him. He wasn't told to crawl, walk or run; he simply followed. There was no billboard or neon sign explaining what to do or how to do it. No instructions on the pattern of life he should live while he followed. He simply must follow Jesus.

What a model for us today! Instead of looking for our personal & specific miraculous message from God telling us what to do next, we with immediate obedience blindly follow our Risen Savior.

Growing up, I struggled with pulpit preachers and college professors making such statements without explaining the application. So, here is my "unlicensed" understanding of what it means to follow Christ. It means leaving everything behind you become contented in Christ alone to the point of absolute adherence to God's Son.

"There is an absolute, direct, and unaccountable authority of Jesus. No need of preliminaries and no other consequence but obedience to The Call."

-Dietrich Bonehoeffer "Cost of Discipleship"

(Painting by Casper David Friedrich)