Devotion for June 08, 2011 – Follow Me
Photo: Katya Horner (Creative Commons license)
Today's Scripture Reading
Luke 5:27-28
Jesus Calls Levi
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him,“Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
Today's Devotion
Did Levi know where he was going when he got up and followed Jesus? What did he leave behind? What have you left to follow Jesus? Why did you go? Do you know where you are heading? Does it matter?
I like to take my friends walking after dark on pathways through the woods at Camp Koronis, the site of the annual fall women’s retreat. The mowed paths are wide and hard-packed, shrubs and undergrowth crowd the edges. Usually I begin the walk with a specific pathway in mind, but I never manage to take us that way because it’s very dark and we can’t see where the path is leading, or even what is directly in front of us.
But I can tell if I am on the path or if I am off the path. When I start to veer off the path -- which happens a lot -- the ground feels softer under my feet and branches brush my face; when I look up, all I can see is blank darkness where the tops of nearby trees block out the starry sky. When I’m squarely on the path and look straight up, I can see the stars shining brightly over the trail where there are no trees to block the view, and feel the firm path under my feet. Always weaving from hard center to soft edges and back again, we move forward step by step down the dark pathway. Neither seeing where we are going, nor even going the way we planned, we always make it back to lodge.
Jesus said, “Follow me,” and I try to drop everything and follow. Jesus didn’t tell me where we are going, and I’m not very comfortable with that most of the time. So when I’m unsure of what God wants of me or where I am going, I picture myself moving in the dark beautiful woods of Camp Koronis, feeling out the path with my feet and holding a strong desire to stay on it, trusting God that I am on the path even if I can’t see one bit of where I am going. That image of the pathway is my prayer.
Trustworthy God, Caller and Path,
Sometimes I feel so confident about our journey together. I think I know where you are leading and how to get there. But other times I feel like I am in the dark woods with no sign, no plan and no direction. I don’t like those times. But I trust you and I desire to desire our journey together. Teach me to feel the path under my feet even when I cannot see where you are leading me.
Amen
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