On Christmas Day many people will open gifts and be excited about what they get. However, do we realize the greatest gift that was given allows us to move from darkness into the marvelous light?  We did not deserve this gift nor did we ask for it. This gift came looking for us and said “follow me”, there were no stipulation. We were not told to get it together then come, nor were we questioned about our past. This is exactly what happened to Matthew, one of the original disciples of Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 9:9 we read how Jesus called him. Matthew was sitting in his tax booth and Jesus comes along and said to him “follow me”. He got up and followed Jesus for the rest of his life. Matthew was a Jew that was ostracized because he was a tax collector. Tax collectors would over charge the people, and keep the extra money for themselves. Jews would not associate with tax collectors, and they were not allowed to worship in the temple. The only time Jews would interact with Matthew is when they had to pay their taxes. Therefore, tax collectors would fellowship with one another, or with other sinners that were not accepted in the Jewish community. Now that we know all of this think about how the Jews looked at Jesus when He invited Matthew to follow Him. They could not believe that Jesus would have the audacity to consider having a tax collector as a disciple.

This says a lot about our Savior, He knew what Matthew did for a living but He still called him. Jesus is not concerned with our past, but with our present. In order for Jesus to impact Matthew’s life, He needed to get him away from where he was. That’s why Jesus said “follow me”, Matthew’s situation could not change until he was willing to follow Jesus. No stipulations were asked of Matthew other than follow. Once he began to follow Jesus, he was able to see the changes he needed to make in his life. Jesus was able to teach him through His actions, rather than telling him what he was doing wrong. Jesus showed him how to live right in the sight of God, by being an example. Matthew’s life was changed and through him following Jesus we have the Gospel of Matthew.

Jesus wants you to follow Him, and live your life in the present. Come just as you are and your life will never be the same. There is no limit to the amazing things He will use you to do. I am thankful for the present, that changed my life. Be a blessing to somebody by sharing this blog.