The Proposal

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13 ESV).

A news item caught my eye this week when I logged on to my home server. It was titled, “Five Worst Proposal Mistakes Guys Make.” The article centered on the mistakes that should be avoided when asking someone to marry you. It included five pointers. The first was called “premature proposing.” The subheading is self-explanatory. It dealt with the need to wait until you really had the opportunity to know one another. The second one was a little more difficult to understand from the heading. It was “it’s not about you.” The gist of the advice was to ask in a manner that you think she would like rather than how you would like it to be. It was about being selfless in your proposal. The next two were similar and dealt with not being too elaborate or complicated. And the last was advice to be patient. If your intended needed more time to think about such a commitment, be prepared to extend that time with grace.

I know you are wondering what this article has to do with a spiritual thought for the day, but it struck me that Jesus’ invitation to us does follow the same “etiquette.” In our reading this morning Matthew was asked to make a life commitment to follow Jesus. It was not a demand, but a request. Jesus is always the perfect “gentleman” in His requests of us. How strange that we often miss the call of God in our lives because we wait for the “burning bush” experience. There are those times in some people’s lives, however for most of us, Jesus simply asks us to follow Him in a soft, gentle voice.

The New Year is almost dawned. There are so many unknowns about this year. The economy is an uncertain, the world is in turmoil, and personal decisions about your vocation or relationships may be before you. Jesus is calling to you to come to Him. There will be your answers for the future. It is not a simple answer for a complex problem. It is a step of faith in securing your future beyond the immediate challenges of this life. Wherever you may be “sitting,’ like Matthew, Jesus calls you to follow Him. In Christ we can have so much. He offers us a love that can never be fathomed; a life that can never die; a righteousness that can never be tarnished; a peace that can never be understood; a rest that can never be disturbed; a joy that can never be diminished; a hope that can never be disappointed; a glory that can never be clouded; a light that can never be darkened; a purity that can never be defiled; a beauty that can never be marred; a wisdom that can never be baffled; and, resources that can never be exhausted. What will you answer be to Him today?