John 1:43 
Philip and Nathanael Follow Christ
43The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
One of the biggest distinctions between Jesus the Rabbi and others, is his choosing his own disciples.
John 15:16
16You did not choose Me, but I chose you …
As many of you may know, this was truly remarkable for that day. Simply put, Rabbi’s did not go seeking disciples, rather disciples saught out Rabbi’s and pleaded to speand 24hrs a day, for years with their Rabbi in order to become like them. (and in truth, many of those who requested this honor were turned away!). Even more remarkable, Jesus goes out to tiny villages to seek out tradesmen that had not passed the test of having what it took to become a Rabbi. These guys were workers, not dumb by any means, just not necessarily with the passion to move on to discipleship. So, as we see with Peter, James, John and Andrew…Jesus doesn’t JUST mean “follow me,” but as Ray Vanderlaan says, “I believe in you. I believe that you have what it takes to become just like me.”
What does that look like today? Perhaps we Jesus followers should stop asking (first) if people believe in Jesus, but if they could believe that Jesus believes in them?
I’ve had a handfull of people in my life who’ve said “I believe in you.” Each of these people had a radical affect on my life. Most recently, a group of people in Grand Rapids said, “We believe in you” and my life is currently changing. Imagine the impact of hearing the call from Jesus on these laborers! I believe you have what it takes.
Sometimes I wonder if we have an unrealistic expectation that EVERY person that follows Jesus has what it takes to be a disciple, I mean a real disciple. Someone who lives, breathes, 24 hours a day the passion to become like Jesus. The custom of the day took into account that most people who loved God didn’t have what it takes to be a disciple. They weren’t expected to have the same grit, education, passion as the few who were chosen. But again, we don’t live in 1st century Israel right now do we? This was a time that the word of God was only available at the local temple. Today, Bibles are readily availeable. Then, people lived in such proximity and with culture, economy, social structures to live in tight community. We don’t. Our ideas of community tend to be individuals that choose to meet together regularly. This is a very different idea of “community” back then. So, what can we really expect in this era?
Maybe we need a new definition of disciple and community. maybe we need to acknowledge their traditions, and reinvent them for our time. Maybe we can raise the expectations of following Jesus and at the same time make them better fitting to our internet driven lifestyles. What does it look like for us to live in community and rethink theology together, and as a communtiy, make our communities better than they were when we got there?
