Come and Follow
Read
When Jesus looked at fishermen mending their nets and said, "Come, follow me," He wasn't handing them a pamphlet or inviting them to attend a seminar. He wasn't offering a self-help program for a slightly improved life. He was extending an invitation into something far more radical and transformative: a complete reorientation of existence itself.
Let’s take a moment to read Luke 9:23-25:
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Reflect
That same invitation echoes through the centuries to us today. This year, our church family chose to center our lives around a single word: Disciple. Not as a religious label to add to our identity, but as a question that challenged everything: "Are you a disciple of Jesus?" It's a simple question with profound implications—one that refuses to let us settle for simply agreeing with Jesus' teachings while our lives remain fundamentally unchanged.
What we've discovered together is both beautiful and demanding. A disciple isn't just someone who admires Jesus from a distance or occasionally seeks His advice. A disciple is a friend and follower of Jesus, being trained and empowered by Him to love. Read that definition slowly. It's not about perfection or arrival—it's about relationship, transformation, and purpose.
Friend and follower. These words remind us that discipleship begins with intimacy. Jesus called His disciples friends, not servants. He invites us into the kind of closeness where we know His heart, understand His ways, and experience His presence. But friendship with Jesus never leaves us unchanged. True friends don't just spend time together—they influence each other, shape each other, become more alike. Following Jesus means our lives begin to reflect His priorities, His values, His love.
Being trained and empowered by Him. This is where the real work happens. Training implies intentionality, practice, even struggle. You don't become a skilled musician by wishing for it or attending concerts. You practice scales, learn from a master, make mistakes, and gradually improve. Discipleship works the same way. Jesus doesn't just tell us to be different—He trains us through Scripture, through community, through challenges that stretch our faith. And He empowers us by His Spirit, giving us resources we could never generate on our own.
To love. Here's the destination and the daily practice. The entire goal of being Jesus' disciple is learning to love as He loves—lavishly, sacrificially, without condition or limit. To love God with all we are, to love each other within the church family with genuine care, and to love our neighbors both near and far with the same compassion Jesus showed. This is the evidence that training is taking root: love that transforms not just our feelings but our actions.
The journey of discipleship doesn't conclude when a calendar year ends. Jesus' call to "come and follow" echoes into every tomorrow, an ongoing invitation that shapes our entire lives. But pausing to remember is itself a spiritual discipline—a way of noticing God's faithfulness and allowing gratitude to fuel our continued growth.
As you reflect on this past year, can you see how Jesus has been training you? Perhaps it's been through Scripture that suddenly made sense, relationships that challenged you to love better, or circumstances that deepened your dependence on Him. Maybe you've noticed more patience with difficult people, more generosity with your resources, or more courage to share your faith. These aren't accidents—they're evidence that the Master is at work, shaping you into His image.
And here's the beautiful truth: wherever you are on this journey, you belong. Whether you're taking your first tentative steps or you've been following for decades, whether you feel like you're making progress or struggling to keep up—you belong in this community of disciples. Jesus doesn't invite the arrived; He invites the willing.
So let's continue this journey together, friends and followers being trained and empowered to love. The destination is glorious, but the journey itself is where we discover who we're becoming.
Respond
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
When you hear Jesus' invitation to "come, follow me," what emotions or thoughts arise—excitement, intimidation, curiosity, resistance
Looking back over this past year, where can you see evidence of Jesus training or empowering you to love more fully?
What's one specific area where you sense Jesus inviting you to deeper discipleship in the coming season?
Rest
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Jesus, thank You for not leaving me as I was but calling me into the beautiful work of becoming Your disciple. Thank You for friendship with You, for patient training, and for the power of Your Spirit working in me. Continue shaping me into someone who loves like You love—extravagantly, courageously, persistently. I'm Yours, and I'm following. Amen.