The trouble with some Bible passages is overfamiliarity. We’ve heard them so often, they sound worn. We tune out, think about what’s for dinner, or yawn: “heard this before!”
So let’s reimagine Jesus’ words to the disciples today. Instead of “come and see,” he says, “Come fill out an application form with 734 questions in triplicate. Then sign the contracts. Ask your attorney to look over the paperwork. And get it all notarized.”
That whoosh you would’ve heard was the disciples running in the other direction. Bear in mind, these were uneducated fisherfolk. They wouldn’t have been impressed by military power or university degrees. They’d reject compulsion but respond to invitation. They were deeply compelled by the person of Jesus.
Try to remember the last time you were so excited about someone you ran to tell your friends, then praised this person so extravagantly, your friends couldn’t resist. They dropped what they were doing, abandoned their busy schedules, and checked out the reality. Did that happen to the disciples?
Kathy Coffey 