21 Days After CampSample

The Jesus Invitation

Have you ever had a friend who was really committed to something? Like Obsessed? Maybe it was sports, music, art, academics or a hobby. Chances are, when you hang out with that person the conversation and activities usually revolve around that one thing. “I could hang out, but only after I finish practice”, is probably something you’ve heard from this friend before. Most of all, you know that any invitation from this person is probably an invitation to be a part of the thing that they are sold out to. 

When Jesus started His Ministry (The part of His life where He traveled, taught about God’s Kingdom and did miracles to validate His teaching) He invited some men who would become His closest friends on the journey. We call them His Disciples. 

These Disciples followed Jesus for three years and they were part of His everyday life. But before they started following Jesus, He was very clear about why they should follow. 

“Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” Mark 1:17

Obviously, this was a metaphor. There wasn’t going to be any nets or fishing hooks involved. But Jesus was very clearly inviting them to two distinct things. He was calling them to join Him in relationship, and He was calling them to join Him in His mission.

That same mission is still happening, and disciples of Jesus are still invited to both relationship and to mission. As followers of Jesus we realize that we cannot separate these invitations, saying yes to one and no to the other, but that a whole-hearted yes to Jesus means a YES to both. 

So how can you choose to actively say yes to Jesus’ invitation of relationship and mission today? 

Relationship: One idea could be practicing personal worship (i.e. read a chapter from the book of Psalms in the Bible, notice what it is saying about God and thank Him for that part of His character)

Mission: Jesus said that His Mission was to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19). Everywhere He went, He brought hope to the marginalized and the outcast in society. How could you live out that same thing today? Who can you bring hope to?