In speaking about Christ's call to the disciples to follow Him, Diedrich Bonhoeffer says this about the calling of Matthew (or Levi).

"Had Levi stayed at his post, Jesus might have been his present help in trouble, but not the Lord of his whole life. In other words, Levi would have never learnt to believe."

As Christians we are called the same way, are we not? Like Peter, John, Matthew, and the other disciples we are called to leave our nets, our boats, our pasts, and our selfish-ambitions and to walk with Jesus.

To those who've been brought up in the Church, you may be numb from this concept's familiarity. "Yes, yes I know. I must deny myself, pick up my cross, and follow Jesus", you may say as your mind gets lost in the seemingly dramatic nature of His command.

But Bonhoeffer's statement leads to a painfully revealing question that cuts to the nerve of any desensitized heart.

Is Jesus just a present help in trouble for you? Is He a plan B, a safety chute, a distant relative?

Or is He the Lord of your whole life?

The question itself is a devastating one to wholeheartedly face, but of course Bonhhoeffer doesn't leave it hanging right there. He makes a point that casts our vision into much deeper waters. He says that by following Jesus, by making Christ the center of his life, Levi learned to believe; implying that if Jesus lays on the periphery of our lives, if He is not Lord, we don't truly believe.

That is a hard question for our smooth, fast-talking, image-adjusting, self-justifying (Christian) culture to face, but one that makes all the difference.


.