“And he said to them, “Follow me.”” Matthew 4:19
“and he said to him, “Follow me.”” Matthew 9:9
Jesus called Sts. Peter and Matthew the same as He calls you and I, “Follow Me.”
But, to where does Jesus ask us to follow Him?
He is pretty clear. “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”” Matthew 16:24
If we are to follow Jesus, we must be willing to take hold of and take up the cross. We must be willing to give our life, to lose our life in order to gain victory (Matthew 16:25).
When we take up this powerful ‘weapon’, we declare to the world that Jesus IS the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:18). With this great ‘weapon’ we assault the gates of Hell and send the devil and his unholy demons fleeing.
It is when we take up the cross offered to us by God, in full submission and trust, that we begin to blossom in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23. It is in carrying the cross in this submission that we match Christ in spirit. It is then that the world sees these fruitful blossoms and smell the fragrant scent of the Spirit about us.
We stand within a rancid world. The smell of the culture of death exudes all around – “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” (Galatians 5:20-21). These ‘works of the flesh’ are honored and strived after. But, when we take up our cross in trust, the scent rises from our soul like fragrant incense. The world notices.
It is then that we come before the Gates of Hell and those gates tremble. In this submission and trust, we exude peace and joy – the foundations of the fruits of the Spirit.
When Jesus catches your eye across the room and calls you to ‘follow Me’, know He is asking you to follow Him to the cross as He overthrows Hell by trust.