What would it have been like if Jesus had walked up to you and said, “Come with me”?
When Jesus called His disciples, He did just that. He didn’t give them a syllabus of what that would mean. He didn’t give them a timeline or much information at all. Even so, they followed Him.
What would that have been like? You would leave your occupation, your family, your way of life, and all you knew placing your trust in this Jesus of Nazareth.
Suzanne Eller gives her readers an invitation to walk into that story in her new book, Come with Me. Chapter by chapter you gain new glimpses and insights of what such a journey would have been like for each of the disciples we have read about throughout the gospels.
Through her eyes, we gain a more personal glimpse of what it means to be a disciple and move more deeply into such a walk with Jesus. We gain new insight about what it means to say, “yes” to His question just because He asks and how our response opens our heart to the miracle of walking with Him.
Suzanne reminds us early in our journey with her of key understanding she hopes we will gain:
“Our encounters with Jesus as his disciple become less about the end destination and more about the invitation to trust him, wherever that leads, whatever he asks us to do. For Jesus meets us where we are with one plan in mind: to change us forever.”
When He calls you, you may be tempted to look around to see if He is talking to someone else. Who, me? We may feel we have the least to offer. Whatever we have been, our great sense of inadequacy, all come front and center into our thoughts.
Suzanne reminds each one of us…
“Being chosen (and accepting that gift) leads to leaving, which leads to home. Not to a place or a job or a person, but into confidence that wherever you are and whatever season you are in, you are his.”
Can you imagine what it would have been like to sit around the table with Jesus, watch Jesus touch the hearts and bodies of people leaving them changed forever? He chose the least likely when He chose those first 12. He didn’t choose the religious leaders of the day. Those who fellowshipped with Him were a different sort of disciple than we would likely see on a checklist of those most desirable.
As you move through the pages of this book, you won’t want to rush. There is a very real sense that this is a personal journey with you and Jesus, with Suzanne pointing out the path. You will sense an anointing as you hear Suzanne’s heart and sense Jesus in it. You will also gain a broader sense of what it means to be called by Him, to be His disciple.
Come with Me will be released on May 3, but you may want to preorder your own copy now. I was blessed to be able to read and review an advance reading copy provided by the author.
