the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
“And he left all, rose up, and followed him.” (Lu. 5:28).
Picture Levi sitting at a table beside the highway, collecting taxes from those who passed by. If he was a typical tax-collector, he pocketed considerable sums of money instead of turning them in to the despised Roman government.
On this particular day Jesus passed by and said, “Follow me.” A tremendous spiritual awakening took place in Levi’s life. He saw his sins exposed. He realized the emptiness of his life. He heard the promise of better things. His response was immediate. “He left all, rose up, and followed him.” In doing so he anticipated Amy Carmichael’s pregnant lines: “I heard His call, ‘Come, follow!’/ That was all./ My earthly gold grew dim,/ My soul went after Him,/ I rose and followed:/ That was all./ Who would not follow/ If they heard Him call?”
But Levi, or Matthew as he is better known, little realized on that day when he answered the call of Christ the great things that would flow from his obedience.
First of all, of course, he experienced the priceless blessing of salvation. From then on he wore out his sandals on the toes instead of on the heels. From then on he had more joy even when he was sad than he formerly had when he was glad. From then on he could say in the words of George Wade Robinson, “something lives in every hue, Christless eyes have never seen.”
Then too, Matthew became one of the Twelve Apostles. He lived with the Lord Jesus, heard His incomparable teachings, became a witness of His resurrection, went forth with the message glorious, and finally laid down His life for the Savior.
To Matthew was given the unspeakable privilege of writing the first gospel. We said that he left all, but the Lord allowed him to keep his pen. That pen was used to portray the Lord Jesus as the true King of the Jews.
Yes, Matthew left all, but in doing so, he gained all, and found the real reason for his existence.
There is a sense in which the call of Christ comes to every man, woman, boy and girl. We can answer or we can refuse. If we respond, He blesses us beyond our wildest dreams. If we refuse, He finds others to follow Him. But we can never find a better Christ to follow.
'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' Copyright 2007 © William MacDonald. 'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
