Following Jesus

Mark 1:35-39 says,

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, 'Everyone is looking for you.' And he said to them, 'Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.' And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons."

As I read this passage today in my quiet time, I thought it was interesting that Jesus went outside the town and waited for his disciples to find him. Once they did, he told them it was time for a road trip. He didn't instruct them to go back and pack their bags or kiss their wives good-bye. They just headed out.

Was this normal practice? Did the disciples' wives and families expect them not to come home when they started hanging out with Jesus? Maybe many of his disciples were not married, but they must have seemed irresponsible to leave their normal lives for this Jesus fellow. Who would feed the dog? Who would pay the rent?

Maybe the whole family followed. Maybe they were a whole family of disciples. Probably not, but this passage of Scripture reminds me of the way God brought my family to Louisville, KY in order to go to school. I had encountered some turmoil in my job and we decided it was time to test the waters. We put our house on the market in Knoxville, TN, and two weeks later we had a contract on the house. I remember thinking, "uhhh... God? This seems a bit sudden." I didn't have a job. We didn't have housing arranged in Louisville. What was God doing with us?

Well, God is good, and he provides for our every need. He provided a place to live and a job and we learned to trust God when he leads us. That doesn't mean we didn't wonder what was happening, but like the disciples in Mark 1, we must learn to follow Jesus, ready or not.

Will you follow him?

Todd