Following JesusSample

STAY WITH ME

John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Lamb of God to his disciples. Two of his disciples, John and Andrew, then begin to follow Jesus 1:37. Jesus asks them what they are seeking. That is a very vital question, which we need to ask ourselves. Are we seeking salvation or are we seeking Jesus?

John and Andrew answer Jesus with the question, “Rabbi, where are you staying”? Jesus says, “Come and see.” So, the first step for them in following Jesus was to find out where He was staying. They follow Jesus and see where He stays and remain with Him for the day John 1:39.

Then Andrew goes and finds Peter and tells him that he has found the Messiah. He came to Jesus seeing Him as a Rabbi or a Teacher, but after staying with Him, his perception of Jesus had changed from Teacher to Messiah.

I often tell people who find it difficult to have faith in Jesus to first commit their life to Him, even if they do not trust Him or believe in Him as a Messianic figure. When you spend time with Him, you will find that your understanding of Jesus changes because of the experience of Jesus you have during this time.

Where does Jesus stay now that we may abide with Him? As John writes in John 15:4, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. This vine also symbolizes the church, which Paul says is the body of Jesus Christ, in 1 Corinthians 3:16. The same idea is put forward by Jesus in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” It is through our church life that we experience Jesus and get to know Him as our Messiah and Saviour.

We see another aspect of staying with Jesus in Luke 10, where Mary stayed with Jesus listening to His teaching while Martha was distracted with dealing with the needs of the people. Both were doing what is important, and one cannot run down what Martha was doing. But Jesus essentially says, before doing, we need to stay with Jesus so that we can serve with the love that service needs.

Our church life alone is not sufficient, however. Our individual relationship with God is important, too. Jesus often withdrew to spend time alone with God in prayer. If you are following Jesus, personal retreats at regular intervals where you spend time alone with God, are a must.

Staying with Jesus means both spending time alone with him as well as spending time with his body, the church.

Are we staying with Jesus or are we too busy doing things for Jesus?