Are you being a disciple of Christ?

Matthew 9:9 (NLT)

As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth.  “Follow Me and be My disciple”, Jesus said to him.  So Matthew got up and followed Him.

 

Imagine the scene……Jesus is walking along the roads of Capernaum, He sees Matthew sitting at his tax collection booth, walks up to Matthew, likely exchanged more than is what is recorded in Scripture, and then simply said, “Come on, Matthew, get up and follow Me and be My disciple”.  And, apparently, Matthew got up and followed Him, leaving his business and everyone and everything else in his life behind.  How would you respond if Jesus gave you this same invitation?  Would you and I make the decision that Matthew did?

First, we really don’t know how we would have responded if we really were in Matthew’s situation.  It’s like when we see how people respond to tragedies that suddenly happen in their lives.  Some respond with wisdom and attitudes that we cannot fathom, others fall apart.  We just don’t know how we would respond until if and when it would happen to us.  Second, we are confronted with invitations and a need to respond to each one every time we open our minds and hearts to hear or read His word.  In the Scriptures, Jesus always calls people to make a decision.  So, you likely have a fair idea whether or not you are like Matthew by the way you know you respond to questions you read or hear from the reading and/or preaching/teaching from God’s word.

So, okay, you are not necessarily in Matthew’s situation, but the question and decision still exist—are you following Jesus as your Lord (assuming that you already have received Him as your Savior) and being His disciple?  By reading this, you have no excuse, you are being confronted by this question.  Are you being Jesus disciple?  Are you putting Him first in your life, are you doing your best to obey His commandments?  Jesus said that we prove our love for Him by keeping His commandments (John 14:21).