Follow Me!

What did Jesus have in mind when he addressed the words "Follow Me" to his disciples and many among the crowds that followed him, listening to him speak, witnessing his miracles?

The Greek word "akolouthei" translated sometimes as "follow me"  means "come in the way of me." It paints three images that describe what it is to respond to Jesus calling to us "follow me."

1. "follow me" is a call to relationship. It does not infer as would the religious leaders of Jesus' day to a scholar, professor, teacher to a student or pupil. Jesus first and foremostly invites us to walk with him a reflection of the way God had the habit of walking with Adam in the cool of the evening (Ge.3:8). Imagine what you would talk about as you "walked with Jesus..."

2. "follow me" is a call to abide. Abiding is about sticking to him, never getting left behind, but being close so as not to miss anything that Jesus would say or do. Imagine someone stuck right behind your shoulder, just centimetres from your ears, listening, watching, observing, learning. This kind of "stuck to him" relationship keeps you in the movement and in all the action but more importantly it produces and deepens trust. As we follow closely we learn, we're not looking at where we're going but on Jesus he is the guide but in this kind of relationship becomes the pathway too. Being so close is about letting ourselves be influenced, shaped, and modelled by Jesus, becoming more and more like him.

3. "follow me" is a call to life sharing. When Jesus calls us to follow him, he desires to share his life with us but he invites us to share all of  our lives with him. In the intimacy of relationship there are no longer fears of facing our weaknesses, mistakes, failings. This is a relationship of mutual sharing in suffering, in faith and in life.

When Jesus calls not only his disciples but the individuals and crowds he meets, this invitation is given to "come in the way of me." Jesus compounds this by another word "opiso" it refers to getting behind. It shows us where our place as followers is to be just behind Him. One pertinent example is of Peter when in one breath he confesses Jesus to be the Messiah-Saviour and in the next tries to take Jesus in hand when he describes his future sufferings and death. To this Jesus responds to Peter "get out from under me to the back of me Accuser!" Peter is not rejected but corrected and brought back to the position of follower "just behind him." After Peter betrays Jesus Mt.26:58 tells us he follows Jesus at a distance. Can you see the difference! In John 21 Peter finds the way to the back of Jesus again as he is restored to relationship, to abiding, to life-sharing again. There is a huge hope for us all as followers of Jesus.

I feel these three points are a worthy reflection for us today as Jesus renews his call to us to "follow me." 
Is there a sense of Jesus having to follow our decisions and choices in life? 
How then is our relationship to Jesus a precursor to our decision making and life choices? 
Are we hearing the words, seeing the example of Jesus and allowing this experience to shape the way we live?
Has my life been compartmentalized to the point of losing sight that Jesus engages with us in sharing all his life with us and us with him? What areas of our lives should we be giving Jesus access to?