I Will Follow Him

Lea Road Community Church offers a Mid-Week Prayer Session on Thursday mornings.  It is a time during the week when people are encouraged to take half an hour our of their hectic schedules to come to the church, pray, and share in some fellowship.  While it is something very simple, and not incredibly exciting, it is one of my favorite things that I get to participate in during the week.

Last Thursday after the opening prayer, there was a reading from Matthew (Matthew 9: 9-13) that really resonated with me.  

"Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, he saw a tax collector, named Matthew, sitting in his office.  He said to him, 'Follow me.' 

Matthew got up and followed him."

I like the last line.  With no questions asked Matthew got up and followed Jesus.  That is living with complete faith.  Matthew had faith that Jesus was going to lead him in the "right" direction. 

I have a lot of respect for those who are able to live with such faith and belief.  Those who know me best know that I tend to be very rational; I tend to think things through so that I know the probable outcome of a given situation.  I think it is safe to say that some were surprised when I decided to apply for a year of mission.

I like to think that my decision to join YAGM and come to Wolverhampton is similar to this passage in Matthew; it wasn't planned (ok, so there was a little planning behind it) but the decision to apply was, for me, a leap of faith. A small hop out of Springfield and across the ocean brought me to an unfamiliar place.  Yet even in all of the doubt and confusion I find calm in the knowledge that others have come before me to lead the way.