Giving Ourselves as Gifts: We’re the leaders

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley,

I think we can all definitively say that we know Jesus. We may have met him through different paths, but we know Jesus. It’s a fact. And now it’s time to ask, “What do we do next?” Let’s look at the first chapter of the book of John to answer that question.

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’” (verse 43). Philip has just met Jesus. Now he’s like us: he knows Jesus. It’s a fact. So what does he do next? “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’” (verse 45).

Philip doesn’t wait around. He’s met Jesus, and he knows that he’s the one. He recognizes the signs from Moses and the prophets. This isn’t news he can keep to himself! He immediately goes to find his friend Nathanael, to tell him about Jesus. But he doesn’t stop there. Nathanael has a question: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” he asks. Philip replies, “Come and see” (verse 46). Not only does he tell his friend about Jesus, he invites him to come and see for himself. Philip says, “Follow me to Jesus.”

That’s our next step. As we’re following Jesus, we are to invite others to follow us to him. They are our disciples, but they’re following us only so we can lead them to the person we’re following. It’s not about us. It’s never about us. We are the leaders, lowercase, and they are following us to the Leader, uppercase – the Christ.

Who are your disciples? Maybe they’re your children, your students, your relatives, or your friends. Look around and you will see them. Make sure that when they see you, they see your Leader, too.