Devotionals for the Heart: Following

“Who are you following?”
A devotional by Melissa Henderson

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 

- Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

Every time I read Scripture, I learn something new. In every life circumstance, each verse reveals something amazing and enlightening. A feeling of peace comes over me when I pick up my Bible and open the pages.

There are times when I am not searching for a particular passage. Those times, I simply open the Bible and see where the pages land. Today, the Bible opened on this Scripture in Matthew.

Matthew 4:19 gives me a reminder to look at my life and see who I am following in every moment. In this Scripture, we are told how Jesus had just begun His preaching in Galilee. He met fishermen Simon Peter and Andrew and invites them to join Him. Jesus tells them He will make them “fishers for people”.

Can you imagine the setting? Close your eyes and picture the water lapping against the side of the boat, fishermen standing while throwing their nets in and out of the water, a daily routine.

Here is Jesus. Encouraging them the join Him. Did they understand his meaning of making them “fishers for men”? Discussion could have gone on for a while. Debates about whether they should go with Jesus or not could have occurred. Did they discuss for a long time or did they answer quickly? Continuing to read the book of Matthew, we can learn more.

If they truly became “fishers of men”, would they be able to bring others to Jesus? So many questions. Those fishermen had to make a decision.

Every day, we have to make a decision in our own lives. Are we going to follow Jesus and show His love to others? Or are we going to make a decision to follow someone or something else? Temptation is all around. 

Making the true decision to follow Jesus allows us to show others His love, through our words and our actions. We never know when someone is affected by something we speak or some action we take.

Perhaps while standing in the grocery line, we notice a person behind us with only one item to purchase while we have a cart full. We let that person go ahead of us. That’s showing God’s love.

Maybe we are taking a walk in the neighborhood and see other neighbors. We pause to say hello and have a chat. Listening and hearing to what the person shares is another way of showing God’s love.

Or even in our own families, do we truly forgive and forget a wrong done to us? I have heard people say forgiving family is harder than forgiving friends. Who are we following if we don’t have forgiveness in our hearts?

If we rush by opportunities to show God’s love, who are we following? Are we following material things or thinking only of ourselves? Life can be very busy, with activities, daily routines, and definitely unexpected events. Do we pause, reflect and remember to follow the examples Jesus provided? Love, care, compassion. Or are we so concerned about the next minute that we move ahead without showing His love?

I pray that we will all follow Jesus each day. What a difference we could make if we became “fishers for people”.

Look around and see how you can show God’s love to others.

Have a blessed day,

Melissa Henderson

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Author Bio:

Melissa Henderson and her husband Alan live in South Carolina.

Married for over 38 years, they have one son (Mike) who is married to daughter-in-love (Christine) and now are blessed by a precious grandson (Rowan).

Melissa was taught the love of reading and writing at an early age from her parents. She is now working on her first inspirational fiction novel.

Her passions are volunteering, Bible Studies and reading and writing. Connect with Melissa online, https://mimionlife.wordpress.com.