January 6
JOHN 1
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” – John 1:43-51
JOHN 1 FOLLOW ME
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you hear the voice of the Lord saying “Follow Me”
Do you need to have proof that it is your Lord himself?
When you are invited to serve in the kingdom of God
Do you heed without delay or do you have second thoughts?
In this account, Jesus found Philip and asked him to follow Him. There was no delay when Philip heard the call of Jesus. He looked for Nathanael right away and witnessed to him that they had found Jesus of Nazareth. But in Nathanael’s case, it was different. He was calculating and questioned if anything ever good comes from Nazareth. He needed to see evidence of this. But as soon as Jesus spoke something about his background and what he was doing before he was called, he changed his mind.
Why don’t we heed a call from our Lord right away when His Spirit calls us? Why do we doubt and need to be convinced that it is really Him? The human mind can be a hindrance in following God’s invitation. If he calls us, he also gives us the ability to accept it. If we belong to him, we would know his voice and we follow without question.
REFLECTION
• Share your insights when you were called by the Lord to follow him.
