The Summons

I was recently reminded of John Bell’s Iona Community song ‘The Summons’

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?
Jesus’ called His disciples to, ‘Follow me’; Jesus’ calls me personally, ‘Follow me.’ There’s no indication of direction or destination, no suggestion of activity or consequence. It’s a potentially life-changing invitation to take Jesus’ love, name and life wherever He leads.

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?
It’s a call for me to be self-less. It’s not about self-discovery, self-realisation or self-promotion. It’s not about fulfilling my dreams, displaying my gifts or finding what’s best for me. The importance of my image, success and reputation diminishes…

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?
If I’m to follow Jesus, I intentionally prioritise the marginalised and disadvantaged. It’s not about those I like, those who make my life easy. I’m to serve with ‘unseen’ humility the ignored and isolated the blind, the prisoners, and the ostracised lepers in our community…

Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?
Being selfless, humble and vulnerable will create a new ‘me’. Following Jesus, I surrender control of my life to live with radically different priorities. This new ‘me’, motivated, inspired and enabled by the Jesus I follow, has the potential transform and reshape me and my world.

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

The summons, the invitation to ‘Follow me’ requires a response. It’s not just a nice idea, an ideology, philosophy or set of religious principles. It’s the intentional daily decision to walk in the footsteps of the Jesus who calls me, by name, to ‘Follow me.’