Dude! Are You Going To Fish Or Cut Bait?

Mark 2:14

And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alpheus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, "Follow Me ." And he arose and followed him.

These two words are the bain of existence for someone who is struggling in addiction. By the time they arrive at Rapha, they simply are wanting to escape the pain and the pressure of life. To them, that is all they truly want out of recovery. Make the pain stop and let me catch my breath. Ahhh! Recovery. But once the pain stops and the mind returns to some state of being lucid, there is still a lot of life left to live. Here in is the rub, so to speak. We can rely upon our current way of thinking and making decisions, or we can look for a different way of doing business. One of the things I say to the guys who are coming into the program is, "Your best thinking........the very best A-game you've got.....has gotten you sitting in yellow chairs at white folding tables." In other words, if this is the best thinking you've got, you might consider changing. In the first three steps, you come face to face with the problem....I'm powerless /  There is a POWER greater than myself who can restore me to sanity (or the ability to make sane decisions) /  I make a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand Him.  In other words, when we take our first look at Step # 1, the call to "Follow me!" has been extended by Jesus to us. Steps 2 and 3 either cause us to reject the offer to follow, or we embrace this offer of a new life and move on.

Jesus, in the Mark passage, sees Levi sitting at the tax booth collecting revenue for the Roman Government. Jesus understands what is going on behind the scenes in Levi's life. He knows that the circle of people that Levi runs with is one that is not accepted in the society of the day. Levi's circle of friends included other tax collectors, assorted outcasts and, to take a phrase that seems outdated, other neer-do-wells.
If it weren't for these people, Levi would have no "friends" (and I use that term loosely). Levi has become hard and calloused against the whispered words spoken behind his back from former neighbors and extended family. Levi has made his living by extortion. Levi has lost any love he may have felt for mankind and has turned to the thought of gain and riches. Levi loves only money and the power it brings him. Money soothes the pain of being cast out from a culture he grew up in. It may have been that Levi was always picked on and called names by the boy's he grew up with. This was his way of getting back at them. Knocking on their doors to collect the taxes, knowing full well that behind those closed doors the very ones who taunted and teased him now hide in fear, wishing he would go away. As much as Levi claimed to enjoy the lifestyle, he went home empty inside every night. Went home to an empty house, and only the echoes of his shoes shuffling across the floor. Jesus saw this as He looked at Levi, and with two words, would change his life forever. With a stearness in His voice and the love of the Father in His heart, Jesus spoke to Levi....."Follow Me!" There in the brief moment in time, Levi weighed everything...his past, his present and his future. The scales came down on the side of leaving every thing.

I'm not Levi.
But the call remains the same.
In fact, if you want to know what I believe.........
I think every morning I get up, that call is there waiting for me.
A new day...
A new call...
Same voice...
Same love and mercy and grace....
Jesus saying, "Follow Me!"
I've grown accustom to the voice and my response that I no longer hesitate.
In the past, I would have asked 20 questions.
"Why?"
"Where are we going?"
"How long are we going to be gone?"
"What will we do when we arrive?"
Jesus would have simply rolled his eyes at me and moved on.
I'm very grateful that he didn't, but was firm in his offer to me.

Moving from a life of addiction into a new life of following Jesus is a monumental thing.
It brings each day to the person committed to change new areas to work on...new things to see....old things to discard and new ways of living. Funny part, this new life is truly lived out one day at a time. I pretty much have grown accustom to living this way. I do make my plans for the week ahead, but I lay them down and approach each day as complete unto itself. By that, I try to take care of the day I've been given,  knowing if I do, then my tomorrow will be set up for me to face. Each day involves me making the commitment to follow.

If I humble myself to obey the Word of God, living moment by moment to follow Jesus, He will make up for my weakness in both my character and my actions. Who could argue with this?
Go and live it today.
Go and tell Jesus, "I want to follow you today!"

God on you......
mb