by Pastor Rich Carlson

Jesus was great at diversifying His discipleship team. From common laborers by the sea to a business man in the city, from the water’s edge to Wall Street, Jesus needed and called them all.

It’s a short story. Jesus was teaching, walked past a tax booth, saw Levi working there, and said, “Follow Me” (Luke 5:27).

We’re not told if Levi said anything in response, but we are told what he did in verse 28:

• “Levi got up. . . ” He took a stand, he decided to act and then did (sitting on the fence where it concerns God gives us neither God nor a comfortable place to sit)!

• He “left everything. . . ” Levi let go of all that gave him human security.

• He “followed him. . . ” Levi made his move. It was more than a nice idea—it was a commitment proven by action.

All Jesus asked of His disciples when He called them was, “Follow Me.” I think that’s all He asks of us, too. Every day we can choose to get up, be willing to leave everything, and follow wherever we sense Him leading us. That was the call to Levi. And I believe it is ours, too.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.