Matthew 9:9
The key word in this verse is follow. Jesus commanded Matthew to follow and Matthew followed. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I'm sure there was probably more interaction between Jesus and Matthew. I'm sure that Matthew probably at least knew about Jesus and had heard about, if not witnessed, his miracles and teaching. None of that changes the fact that Matthew was obedient immediately.
This is a bit of a theme through Matthew: when Joseph was told to stay with Mary, he got up the next morning and obeyed; when Joseph was told to go to Egypt, he got up immediately and obeyed; etc. Immediate obedience is something I'm trying to teach my son. Just this morning he wanted to watch a video rather than eat breakfast and I told him "no". He kept going toward the tv and turned it on. We had a "talk", he apologized by giving me a hug and I put him down. Out came the pointer finger and away he went towards the tv. I told him "no" but he figures if he doesn't look at me he can't hear me. It's cute now but it's only going to lead to more trouble down the road unless we can teach him obedience now.
I wonder how God feels when he tells me to do something and I ignore him, thinking that if I don't look at him I can't hear him. I like to think that I am fairly obedient but, honestly, I am only selectively obedient. I know Jesus at least as well as Matthew did when he obeyed Jesus' call to follow. It's not a matter of how much I know, it's a matter of how much I trust. God, give me an obedient and trusting spirit so that when your Son says, "follow me" I will get up and go.
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1 comment:
yeah I hear you on this one. Obedience is important, but often I have selective hearing, I think that's why I can relate to people like Jonah. It's hard to be obedient, because like you said that means you have to fully trust. Without trust you cannot be obedient. May we trust God and be immediately obedient to him.
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