As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9 CSB

It was a complicated week of cramming—rushing, overdoing. Exactly why, when I picked up the magazine called Real Simple, I felt energized. Until I read through it. Sure, I learned how to organize and discovered articles on ways to “lighten up your life.” The hard hit was in the center of page 36. There was a suggestion to throw all my throw pillows away. Gulp. 

I don’t want to take this advice because I ascribe to the crazy idea that throw pillows prop up our home. They say things. Like: Simply Blessed. Make today ridiculously happy. DO NOT cut your bangs! These are reminders I need, although I want to make excuses for myself—because living real simple feels hard.

But Jesus said, “Follow me” (vs. 9). 

Matthew simply rose and followed.

When we look at the word follow in its Greek form, we see akoloutheo doesn’t mean to simply “tag along,” but to “assist” and “accompany.” And I love that there is a mostly silent dialogue between a Savior and a sinner. Can you imagine how relieved Matthew must have been? Because we know that Jesus didn’t offer Matthew what he already had, He offered him what he couldn’t attain for himself. He offered him grace. 

Is it Really This Simple? 

Grace is about grounding yourself to the simple love of Jesus when you feel like you are floating away. It also includes this compassionate confirmation, a kind of  lifejacket: “he saw a man.” A synonym for “see” is to find, so it reads: Jesus found Matthew.

Then a tax collector rises up and follows emptied of his past, guilt, and shame. He is lighter. His love for Jesus is now simple, easy. And it is. For a person who often overcomplicates and overthinks everything, sometimes the worst place you can be is in your own head. Exactly why I love how Mathew’s spirit responds freely to being seen, to being found. He is awakened by faith to follow. 

Some days the small things Jesus asks from us can feel difficult, though. What trips us up, I think, is the hesitation to follow empty handed. *Checking notes here* *Checking throw pillows.* Or, to follow with all the extra of  our authentic selves which very well could include an overstuffed backpack of depression, regret, and fear. We want to carry the shame of our addictions and the weightiness of our sins by ourselves. I’ve learned (and relearned), to watch the footsteps of the One who walks in front of me. To trust the work He speaks about in Ephesians 2:10. Reminding us that we are an act of His work, His good work He has already prepared. We are His work-in-progress. 

I confess—like a surfboard to the shore—I still try to drag my own best effort behind me. Surely, I need this surfboard to carry me over the waves. Surely, I need to do the work. I mean, I can’t show up messy and loaded down (#throwpillowforever). Surely. 

But Matthew didn’t see Jesus. Jesus saw him. First. Jesus loved him, first. It is God’s unfathomable love that invites us, and His irresistible grace that works to sanctify our souls.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). God doesn’t call us to follow complex rules and regulations, He invites us to walk in redemption with Him. Ahhh.

Let’s Get Carried Away

Years ago, my husband went to a men’s campout. While seated by firelight and ashes, he handed his heart to God, saying, “My entire life, I’ve heard all the things I couldn’t do—I never realized all  that God could do.” So many of us have learned the weightiness of religion. With Jesus we are invited to abandon our surfboards and chase the weightlessness of relationship as He carries us away. Turns out, following Jesus isn’t just an action or a duty—it is surrender. 

I just love this poem by Samantha Reynolds so much: 

I asked a wise woman the difference between giving up and surrender,

and she walked into the water even though it was cold and said across the sound of the sea

that one is to sink and the other is to lay back and float. 

I confess, not even counting my throw pillows, many days I still try and show up weighted down in the better version of myself. Thankfully, we’re invited to know a God who asks less from us than we demand from ourselves. Who teaches us to deeply see Him, not simply to follow. Who knows us so well, so lovingly, and wants us to know Him more. And who wants to carry us when we can’t not make it to shore on our own. 

I mean, I love how the lightness of following Jesus takes us back to the truth that, “God doesn’t want something from us, He simply wants us.”—C.S. Lewis.  

We rise and show up empty so we can be filled.

Jesus said, “Follow me.” Matthew followed. We show up with nothing. Unless, of course, it is with our handful of much needed throw pillows. Of course. 

• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
• “Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away” (John 6:37). 

Meet Beth