(Matthew 9:9)
9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.TODAY'S TAKEAWAY
First of all, no one LIKES to pay taxes, but the tax collector in Israel, in those days, were extra hated, because these Israelites were working for the Romans, and collecting taxes which went mostly to Rome. AND, these tax collectors would raise the amounts in order to skim off the top, so, they also got super rich from cheating their fellow citizens. Therefore, they may have been rich, but they would have been very lonely: not fitting in with the Romans, and not fitting in with their own people. And, let's just add to that the guilt they would have felt for stealing.
Let's go over this again. This man, Matthew, was being used by the enemy, and hated by his people. He would have felt lonely and guilt-ridden, as well as empty... because when you are just living for money and yourself, it'll never be enough! So, what other diabolical strategies were floating around in his mind as to how to get more? How long until he started wondering if this was really worth it? How much was he thinking that there must be more to life, and there must be a better way?
Now, Jesus comes along! Jesus already knows what is in Matthew's heart and mind, and sees his empty, hungry soul! Jesus knows that Matthew is ready! And, all Jesus has to say is, "Follow Me!" And Matthew gets up immediately to follow! There wasn't any, "Wait, first let me earn just a little bit more money", or "Let me think about this..." Matthew was willing to leave it all behind.
Since Jesus was staying in Capernaum for the most part, we can be very sure that Matthew knew a lot about Jesus already. Maybe Matthew frequently saw Jesus and His disciples walk past him. Perhaps Matthew had watched as Jesus taught and healed others. Nonetheless, at some point Matthew might have realized that this is God in flesh. At the very least, he would have recognized that there was something very different about Him, and he wanted to know more.
While Matthew didn't fully know Jesus yet, he dropped everything to follow Jesus, to pursue a personal relationship with Him, as His disciple, student, friend, servant... How willing are we, us believers who say that we love others because we love God, and know so much about the Lord already? When God calls us to serve in some way, or talk to someone who is ready, are we willing and ready to drop everything?
Imagine if someone were sitting on the side of the road, starving, holding up a sign saying that they need something to eat, and we, feeling filled, have a bit of food with us - are we just going to keep walking? This is a lesson for me, for sure. God sees and knows those who have hungry souls, so when He asks us to talk to someone about Jesus and the good news, imagine that they are starving, and we have the spiritual food that will fill them, satisfy them, and nourish them for all eternity!
Could someone reject this food when we offer it to them? Sure. Just like a person who is physically hungry. There are times people will turn down food, because of pride and not wanting to be seen accepting charity. There are times people will turn down food, because they're hoping for something they think is tastier.
There's that saying, beggars can't be choosers, yet people will still feel so entitled... UNTIL they are truly, truly hungry! So, even if we offer a hungry person spiritual food, and they turn this down - maybe they even persecute us - but perhaps over time they will remember this offering that was graciously presented to them with God's love, and they accept Jesus into their hearts! We don't know who is that hungry, or who will be that hungry in the future, but the Lord does! So again, when God calls us to follow, are we - not just willing - but are we excited to do so!!!???
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