When Jesus said, “follow Me” to the four fisherman by the Sea of Galilee (), He was not interested in them just becoming His traveling companions. The phrase “follow Me” literally reads “come behind Me” and, according to one commentator, involves “no thought of continuous following from place to place, but of immediate detachment from the present sphere of their interest and of attachment to Jesus as their leader.” Such is the journey that all of us must make if we are going to truly follow Jesus.

Jesus is “calling” everyone to follow Him. Not in the sense that the denominational world uses the term, but according to Paul, we are “called through the gospel” (). And whether you choose to answer His call or ignore it, to accept it or reject it, is up to you. But you need to know up front that the call to follow Jesus changes everything. You can’t be exposed to the gospel, the truth about who He is and what He did, and be the same as you were before. His call to follow is your call to change.

So, who will follow Jesus?

Those who are willing to change their lifestyle. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen. But when they left their nets to follow Jesus, they became fishers of men. Gone was the day in which their chief concern was casting nets to bring in fish. They were now about the business of bringing souls into the kingdom of God. In other words, they received a promotion from the secular to the spiritual. That meant that they could leave even their means of livelihood because what they would receive in return was far greater.

Many people are unwilling to make such a radical change. They’re comfortable where they are, in their present surroundings. It’s what they’ve known their whole lives, and they’re not quite sure what’s out there on the other side. So, they take the “wait and see approach” or keep one eye on where they’re going and one eye on where they’ve been. Jesus said that’s not good enough. “No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God” ().

What have you changed for Him? Have you changed anything? Have you changed everything? If you haven’t, you can’t follow Him.

Those who are willing to change their relationships. Matthew’s account says, “immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him” (). That does not mean that James and John ceased to be the sons of Zebedee. But it does mean that they were not going to allow anyone, even their father, to come between them and their relationship with their heavenly Father. Neither mending nets nor cleaning fish were going to interfere with them being about their Master’s business.

Think about it. Are you willing to sacrifice more for the Lord than you are for your own children? And are you ready to change jobs if you find that you can’t be what He wants you to be at your workplace? Or will you find new friends if the ones you’re around now are a bad influence on you? If not, you are disqualified from being a disciple of Christ. Because following Jesus sometimes means that it’s just going to be you and Him.

There is another relationship that must be restructured—the one with yourself. You must be willing to accept that your ambitions and goals for your life may not be the ones God has in mind for you. Can you set those aside and say, “not my will but Thine be done?” Jesus prayed those very words. You can’t follow Him without following His example.

Those who are willing to change their priorities. “Immediately” the followed Jesus. There was no hesitation. They didn’t need the night to sleep on it or the weekend to think about it. It was a willing, self-surrender to a new life, even though it was a decision that would ultimately require their lives.

We must have this same sense of urgency, of seeing the importance of following Jesus immediately. When people say, “not now, maybe later,” they usually means want to keep playing around with the world, afraid of what they’ll lose. But when you follow Jesus, you lose nothing. You gain everything. Let us consider the cost of discipleship. But let us also consider the price of rejection.

Those who follow Jesus in this life will surely follow Him to glory in the life to come. Those who answer His call to serve, He will call forth from the grave to a resurrection of eternal life. Who will follow Jesus? Who wouldn’t want to?