You Are Called
"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." - Matthew 9:9
You don’t have to clean yourself up before God can use you. He isn’t waiting on you to become impressive. He’s just waiting for you to follow. That might sound simple, but for a lot of us, it's hard to believe. Especially when you’ve been carrying the weight of your past, your mistakes, or your failures for a long time.
Matthew wasn’t the guy people expected Jesus to call. He was a tax collector, and that meant he wasn’t just disliked; he was hated. Seen as a sellout, a thief, someone who betrayed his own people for personal gain. He was the kind of man people crossed the street to avoid. But Jesus didn’t avoid him. Jesus walked straight up to him and said, “Follow me.”
That moment wasn’t just about Matthew. It was about you, too. Because if Jesus could call someone like him, He can call someone like you. Your resume doesn’t scare God. Your secrets don’t shock Him. Your mess doesn’t make Him walk away. He sees you sitting in the middle of whatever booth you’ve built around yourself, and He still speaks the same words, “Follow me.”
This isn’t a call to become religious. It’s a call to relationship. A call to rise up from what’s been holding you down. To leave behind whatever version of yourself you’ve settled for, and step into who God says you are. Matthew had no idea what his “yes” would lead to. He just knew that Jesus was worth following.
So are you ready to believe it? You are called. Not because you’ve earned it. Not because you’ve got it all together. But because Jesus sees you and says, “Come with me.” And when He calls, the only right move is to rise and follow.
You don’t have to clean yourself up before God can use you. He isn’t waiting on you to become impressive. He’s just waiting for you to follow. That might sound simple, but for a lot of us, it's hard to believe. Especially when you’ve been carrying the weight of your past, your mistakes, or your failures for a long time.
Matthew wasn’t the guy people expected Jesus to call. He was a tax collector, and that meant he wasn’t just disliked; he was hated. Seen as a sellout, a thief, someone who betrayed his own people for personal gain. He was the kind of man people crossed the street to avoid. But Jesus didn’t avoid him. Jesus walked straight up to him and said, “Follow me.”
That moment wasn’t just about Matthew. It was about you, too. Because if Jesus could call someone like him, He can call someone like you. Your resume doesn’t scare God. Your secrets don’t shock Him. Your mess doesn’t make Him walk away. He sees you sitting in the middle of whatever booth you’ve built around yourself, and He still speaks the same words, “Follow me.”
This isn’t a call to become religious. It’s a call to relationship. A call to rise up from what’s been holding you down. To leave behind whatever version of yourself you’ve settled for, and step into who God says you are. Matthew had no idea what his “yes” would lead to. He just knew that Jesus was worth following.
So are you ready to believe it? You are called. Not because you’ve earned it. Not because you’ve got it all together. But because Jesus sees you and says, “Come with me.” And when He calls, the only right move is to rise and follow.
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