How far will you follow me?

God is always asking, will you follow me and if so how far? By looking at the life of Peter, we see that Jesus was always asking Him, how far will you follow me. First of all when Jesus called the disciples, He asked them (Peter included) to give up their jobs in order to become His disciple or follower. A job isn't just a job but a source of provision, comfort, and for men in that time it can be a form of identity. So Peter dropped his nets and followed after Jesus. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18  Another time Jesus asked the question "how far will you follow me", was when he asked Peter to step out on the boat. Matthew 14:25-29 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."Come," he said.   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" In our relationship with God we are asked often times to venture into the unknown like Peter was when he was asked to walk on water. We are sometimes asked to do things that with our all natural eyes look and seem humanly impossible. The most amazing thing about this event that took place is what Peter said. When He said, Lord if it's you, I'll come, He was declaring that no matter what it looked like, felt like, how unknown and no matter how afraid he may be THAT because Jesus bid Him come and because Jesus was on the water then He could step out of the known into the unknown. The unknown will always seem fearful unless you step out with the One you know. The only hope that Peter had in this situation, was that the One He knew was on the standing on the water. Peter had several firsthand experiences with Jesus, meaning He had personally been with Jesus as He had fed the multitude, healed the sick, raised the dead, spoken truth to the blind, crossed cultural boundaries, and even watched him escape it all to pray to His father. Peter experienced it firsthand and had a knowing of Christ, so when Jesus responded "It is I"... although everyone else was afraid, Peter stepped out of the boat because He knew Jesus. As followers of Christ, we too experience Jesus firsthand through a daily relationship with Him: we know Him, when He calls, when He speaks, when He leads, and when He whispers  his amazing love to us. The sheep know His voice. Sometimes like Peter, we see our "very known" personal Savior in an unknown place asking us how far we will follow him. When we know it's him, even if we sink he holds us up, because He is faithful to those who follow him in obedience. When Jesus asks how far will you follow me, it's a matter of trust. Will you trust like Peter did, even in the unknown, that He will hold you up? It's greater to be in the unknown with the one you know than rather than being in the known without Him. Trust the One you know and where He has led you this far, even when you face the unknown. The unknown changes, the known changes because they are just circumstances..but Jesus (who you know), will never change. What he speaks is sovereign, and where He leads is for divine purpose. God always asks to His children how far will you follow me and how much will you trust me? He asks us this because he loves us and desires that we all grow closer to Him in our own life and so His will can be at constant work through us. A lot of times we pray for greater things in God and that greater can come as the unknown where we have to take a blind leap into the loving arms of our Savior. Trust is defined in a very broad way, but I like to think of it as this in my relationship with God: With all that I am rely on all that He is, and He is always more than enough. So when Jesus asks, how far.... follow Him farther because He knows every step of the journey in our lives and whether this is the first step of salvation or the step to walk in a specific calling, God is still leading and directing every step and He knows what we can't quite see yet. The plans He wants to fulfill through those He created are amazing, and He asks us to follow Him in loving obedience and the best response is more than a yes, but an actual step. 

All around we are facing unknown circumstances in our society and in this specific time in history. Whether it's economic trouble, family problems, and the list could go on and on  because that's what circumstances do... but today, trust the one you know with all that you are despite what everything else looks like. 
 I would encourage you to read Matthew chapter 14 and today don't put a limit on how far you follow Jesus, but follow  Him, fully abandoned with a loving heart. Don't stay in the boat, but go where He is.