Trust

Follow > TRUST

Jesus gave this invitation to His first disciples: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

How did Jesus keep His promise to “MAKE” His friends into fishers of men? What happened to move the disciples from following to fishing (bearing fruit)? That’s what we’re answering in this blog series. If you haven’t already, go now and read Leonard’s post that introduces us to the circular transformation process of follow > trust > love > imitate > bear fruit. Also, make sure to read last week’s post where we learned that following is always about the eyes and where we are looking. Today’s post is about trust. Trust is always connected to a change in thinking.

To begin, let’s define trust. Trust is believing in God in such a manner that you and I are willing to place the full weight of our lives on Him. Do you have a favorite chair or spot on the couch? When you sit on it, you expect it to be strong enough to hold your full weight. As we develop our trust in God, we learn that He can carry our full weight as well - we can be “all in” because of who He is. That’s how the disciples ultimately lived. They trusted Jesus so much that they were willing to give all to accomplish His mission.

Trusting always includes a change of thinking; Jesus gave his friends a different way of thinking about and seeing God. He taught them not just with words but as “God with Us” He literally showed the disciples what God is like. Jesus said, “What God the Father does, I, God the Son, do. I and the Father are one. If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 5:19,10:30, 14:9).

If seeing Jesus was seeing the Father, what did his friends and followers learn about God? First, in a culture that opposed them, they were reminded that God was still the Creator with power over everything. They were eyewitnesses to Jesus telling the storm to be quiet, walking on water, casting out demons, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead to life, and ultimately being raised Himself at the resurrection.

They also saw that this Creator God loved people and was filled with compassion for them. Jesus spent His days meeting needs. He noticed people, healed them, fed them, taught them, blessed them, prayed for them, forgave them, and ate meals with them as a sign of friendship. Jesus’ actions demonstrated God’s kindness and mercy so much so that “sinners” were drawn to Him (look at Luke 15:1-2). This wasn’t because He had low expectations on dealing with sin, either. He told the woman caught in adultery, “Go and leave your life of sin” (John 8), and in the Sermon on the Mount, He went further with the Law than ever before with His “you have heard said…but I tell you” statements.

By His close, daily presence, Jesus taught His followers that God was near and wanted to be there. In John 13, we see Jesus at the Last Supper. It says,

Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end…Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet. (John 13:1, 3-4).

Jesus knew He was God with all things under His power, so He washed His disciple’s feet! In an intimate act of service, Jesus took on the role of a servant. What is God like? He serves out of love. In the ultimate act of serving and loving, Jesus laid down His life for His friends.

The first disciples - Jesus’ friends - followed Jesus, and as they did, He taught them a different way of thinking about God. This led to them trusting Him so much so that they gave their all for Him. Trusting is always about how we think. What do you think about when you think of God?

Jesus’ friends trusted Jesus because they knew Him. They spent time with Him. That invitation is for us today as well. Here’s my challenge to you: This summer, read one of the Gospels (I’m reading John). Read it over and over and over. If you do this, you will find yourself thinking about Jesus without even intending to, and your trust in Him will grow.