Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
The following is an example of a devotion from David Platt’s new devotional, Follow Him. We invite you to take a moment and go through this short piece just like you would a devotional. We hope it brings you encouragement and life today.
Four fishermen were standing by the sea one day when Jesus approached them. “Follow me,” he said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”1 With that, Jesus beckoned these men to leave behind their professions, possessions, dreams, ambitions, family, friends, safety, and security. He bid them to abandon everything. “If anyone is going to follow me,” Jesus said, “he must deny himself.”2 In a world where everything revolves around self—protect yourself, promote yourself, preserve yourself, entertain yourself, comfort yourself, take care of yourself—Jesus says, “Slay yourself.”
And that’s exactly what happened with these four fishermen. According to Scripture and tradition, they paid a steep price for following Jesus. Peter was crucified upside down, Andrew was crucified in Greece, James was beheaded, and John was exiled.
Yet they believed it was worth the cost. In Jesus, these men found someone worth losing everything for. In Christ, they encountered a love that surpassed comprehension, a satisfaction that superseded circumstances, and a purpose that transcended every other possible pursuit in this world. They eagerly, willingly, and gladly lost their lives to know, follow, and proclaim him. In the footsteps of Jesus, these first disciples discovered a path worth giving their lives to tread.
Two thousand years later, we seem to have wandered from the path. Somewhere along the way, amid varying cultural tides and popular church trends, we have minimized Jesus’ summons to total abandonment. Scores of men, women, and children have been told that becoming a follower of Jesus simply involves acknowledging certain facts or saying certain words. But this is not true. Disciples like Peter, Andrew, James, and John show us that the call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it’s a summons to lose our lives.
There is indescribable joy to be found, deep satisfaction to be felt, and an eternal purpose to be fulfilled in dying to ourselves and living for him.
Ask the Lord to give you the grace to follow him in faith and in glad obedience.
Footnotes: 1 Ibid. 2 See Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23.
Follow Him by David Platt
In the first devotional from David Platt, Follow Him equips and empowers you to bring people to know Jesus Christ through your life.
To be a disciple of Jesus is to make disciples of Jesus. This has been true since the first century, when Jesus invited four men to follow him. More than searching for fish all over the Sea of Galilee, these men would spread the gospel all over the world. They would give their lives by not simply being disciples of Jesus, but by sacrificially making disciples of Jesus. And God’s design for twenty-first-century disciples is the same.
Becoming a Christian involves responding to the gracious invitation of God in Christ. As we follow Christ, he transforms our will, mind, desires, relationships, and our ultimate reason for living. Every disciple of Jesus exists to make disciples of Jesus, here and among every people group on the planet.
Bestselling author and Bible teacher David Platt invites you to take a closer look over the next thirty-five days at what it means to be a true disciple; to become a fisher of men; and to give up your life, take up your cross, and Follow Him.
