A Disciple's JourneyNäide

Why does Christ call us?

Reason #2: He wants to be with us

Second, we learn in Mark 3:14 that Jesus calls and appoints the disciples “so that they might be with him.” The call to “follow” is an action. It gives us work to do and a mission to pursue (more on that tomorrow). But we shouldn’t miss this—the call to “follow” means that we get to be with Jesus. We get to abide with Him. We get to spend time with Him. He wants us to be in His presence. He’s going to take us somewhere, but He wants to be with us the whole way there.

Think about the Great Commission. Sometimes we skip over the final part! In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus tells us to go into all the world, making disciples of all nations. But at the end of verse 20, in the very last line of the whole Gospel, Jesus says: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus promises to be with us.

This applies to the whole journey, every step of it. He’s right there with you. As He says in John 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us, and nothing can separate us from him. As Paul says in Romans 8:38–39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”