So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. Luke 5:11, NKJV

Who are you following?  In a culture saturated with social media influencers and their countless posts, the options are endless.  In today's lingo, when we choose to like/follow/subscribe to a public figure or channel, we're simply giving a green light to keep receiving more content from those outlets.  But in the New Testament, following Jesus means so much more than expressing a simple preference among many.  It was a serious commitment, a supreme loyalty that was exclusive to all others.  What does following Jesus look like in our lives today?

CHRIST COMES CLOSE

In Luke 5, Jesus' public ministry is still relatively new, but His popularity had already swelled to the point that "multitudes pressed about Him to hear the word of God" (v. 1).  If He had a YouTube channel, the number of subscribers would be off the charts.  But Jesus wasn't just interested in securing a large following.  He was in pursuit of individual followers -- disciples, people He could personally invest in and would be personally invested in Him.  And Luke's narrative catches this priority by dramatically shifting the spotlight from Jesus teaching a large multitude from the shore of Lake Gennesaret to an intimate interaction between Jesus and Simon Peter:

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:3-4, NKJV

I love that Jesus chose to step into Simon's boat, that He took the initiative to draw close and put Himself in proximity with the one He would invite to follow Him.  

Long before any of us make the choice to follow Jesus, He has already pursued us.

Before we can appreciate the specifics of what it means to follow Jesus, let's be wowed by the God who draws near to us, the One who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:14) and today stands at the door of your heart and mine seeking personal connection (cf. Rev. 3:20).  

CHRIST IS ALL

Following Jesus begins with being receptive to this personal connection, and it continues with being willing to trust Him in deep waters:

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luke 5:4-5, NKJV

Do you hear the hesitancy in Simon's voice?  All his previous efforts from the night before proved fruitless.  But instead of letting his past experience determine his future steps, Simon chose to trust Jesus' word.  And that changed everything (v. 6)!  When we open our lives to closeness with Jesus and then choose to let His will take priority over our own, Christ becomes all to us.  And from His fullness, He fills all our emptiness -- the emptiness that results from reliance upon ourselves.  Following Jesus is a life of constantly choosing to do as Simon did, ever saying with resolve, "At Your word, I will..."

ALL THINGS NEW

As we continue to read in Luke 5, we can track the cascading impact felt when Jesus becomes all to us.  First, others in our lives are drawn into our new story with Jesus:

So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:7, NKJV

What may start as an individual experience with Jesus in our own lives doesn't remain an individual experience for long. When we personally connect with Christ, our relationships with others are affected, especially when those friends can see first-hand the fullness that Jesus brings to our former emptiness.

In v. 8, Simon's transparent confession underscores the reality that when we see who Jesus is we're able to see who we really are apart from Him.  We become more aware of our sinfulness, our self-reliance and unbelief, all the ways we fall short of His glory.  The more Jesus becomes all to us, the less we become to ourselves.  The more we trust in Jesus, the less we trust ourselves.  On one hand, coming to our senses about our own fallenness can leave us fearful and overwhelmed with our insufficiency, but Jesus' immediate response to Simon is His appeal to each of us:  "Do not be afraid" (v. 10).  Why can we be unafraid in the face of our own weakness?  Because Jesus bestows on our lives a new purpose and direction: "From now on you will catch men" (v. 10).  

Instead of a fruitless life of relying upon ourselves and serving ourselves, Jesus calls us to a life of others-centeredness and blessing.  

Jesus invites us to leave what formerly defined us and attach ourselves to a new identity in Christ.  When Jesus becomes all to us, we experience renewed relationships, new sufficiency, and a new calling and identity all together.

So again, who are you following?  Will you join me in choosing to follow Jesus?  Let's forsake all others and follow supremely the One who comes close to us personally, the One who fills our emptiness from His fullness, the One who transforms us and commissions us to a life of service and blessing.