“Follow me.” 

This is where we begin. This is where we start. 

This is for the professional pastors and the ardent atheists… Follow me. 

For the self righteous pharisees and the unrighteous tax collectors… Follow me. 

For the down and outers, and the up and inners… Follow me.

For the tore up from the floor up, need a check up from the neck up… Follow me.

For the Sunday best collared shirt with a quarter zip and oxford shoes… Follow me. 

For the broken and those trying hard to hold it all together… Follow me. 

For the lost and for the found… Follow me. 

For the Saints and the Sinners, and everyone in between, the invitation remains the same… Follow me. 

Usually we reserve the invitation for those who have already made a commitment, for those who have responded to the altar call, prayed the sinner's prayer, and perhaps been baptized. But, how do you know if you want to make Jesus the Lord of your life if you haven’t experienced what life with Him is like? That is why the invitation is so essential for us no matter where we are on our with God journey. And that was the call all along, not to raise a hand and say a prayer, but to “Come and see.” To follow. 

For those who have come to trust Jesus and know Him as Lord and Savior, don’t you want to know Him as Rabbi and Friend? Personally, I don’t want to give my life to memorizing facts about who Jesus was and what He did. I want the original invitation to live my life in a beautiful journey with Jesus. To learn from my Rabbi how to live my life the way that He would live it if He were in my shoes. I want the climbing mountains, descending into valleys, wandering through the wilderness, and walking on water journey. I want to follow Jesus, going where He goes, doing what He does, becoming more and more like Him. In short, I want to be a disciple.

So, here we stand. Jesus standing before us with the same invitation He extended to the rich, young ruler and to the tax collector; to the fishermen and to the Pharisee. “Come, follow me.” It isn’t going to be easy, but it will be good. It won’t always be fun, but it will always be exciting. 

So, how will you respond to the invitation? Hopefully, there will be no regrets. The banquet awaits. Let the journey begin.