"Follow me." At these words from Jesus, Matthew got up from what he was doing, I presume quitting his cushy tax collector job without notice and with no real plan other than to follow Jesus. Here he was, a man reviled by all, a man, in all likelihood, mired in sin and in the exploitation of the poor and powerless; in short, a man who had it made in the ancient world. But such was (and IS—to those who will listen) the power of the voice of Christ; such was the joy of the service of Jesus that at one word from Him, this man was willing to give up everything.
We should recall Matthew’s action each time we drag our feet in one form of service or another. Each time the Lord asks us to smile at someone, speak to someone, have coffee with someone, feed someone, help in any way that lies within our power -- we should recall this man who gave up everything to follow Jesus. He gave it up at a word and left all to be with Jesus. So, surely we can follow with a service less drastic, with a task much less onerous. Surely when we remember what the great saints and apostles sacrificed for us, we can afford the little sacrifice of some of our time.
We can offer a lot of service to the less fortunate simply by giving up a few minutes to an hour each day in prayer for them. If we all spent just a little more time praying for one another rather than preying on one another, we would see the world with a lot more optimism.
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