I’ve always been a wonderer. I find myself wondering and dreaming about things, some are realistic possibilities, others are just far off thoughts. At adoration this week I found myself wondering about what my life would have been like if I had lived at the time and place when Jesus walked the earth? What role might I have played? Would I have been one of the first disciples? Would I have been a Roman soldier or a ranking member of the Sanhedrin who was directly responsible for his death? Would I have been a shop owner in Nazareth who saw him pass by each day as he was growing up? Would I have been someone who screamed for his crucifixion? Would Jesus have looked at me and said, “Come, follow me.”?
It’s an interesting exercise, but it certainly isn’t reality. I also find myself asking similar questions for this particular time and in this particular place. What would it look like if I were to give my life completely to Christ? How can I increase my knowledge of what the church teaches so that I can stand up for the faith? Who do I spend a majority of my time with and do those relationships help me to become a seeker? A disciple? An advocate for the faith?
What if your spiritual self-became the hungriest version of yourself and you could discipline your physical, emotional, relational and material self to decrease to the level of being satisfied with just the basic needs? What difference would that make to your family, our community, and our world?
The gospel stories that we will be hearing over the next several weeks are more than just stories. They are invitations for all of us, no matter our age and stage of life, to become an active follower of Jesus, a true disciple. I am confident that when each of us makes this commitment to Him, that we will be on the adventure of a lifetime. I am asking each member of our church to find one way that you can increase your spiritual self each and every week this year.
- How can you increase your Knowledge of the Lord?
- How can increase your Love of the Lord?
- How can you increase your Service to the Lord?
- How will you answer the call to discipleship?
What if each of us gave our all, starting right here and starting right now, and we answered the call just like the first disciples did?
What if?
