“and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him……Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed….. After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.” Luke 5:10-11, 16, 27-28 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/luk.5.11-27.NET

When Jesus calls us and calls all of us to be born again, He requires total commitment. What else would God require for His creation than to love Him most and obey Him first? This is our responsibility, modeled by those who first met God as Man on earth. The disciples abandoned their businesses to have a personal relationship with God and work for His glory vocationally. This life is short-lived. Life after death is eternal. How we live and where we live eternally is determined by how we live temporarily on this earth. Our goal should be to know Jesus and to make Jesus known. To pray to God for people and to share with people God. We should be praying to know and do God’s will even as we seek the answer to that question through His word while doing everything we know is God’s will found in God’s word. The first command is God’s standard for our lives. How do we know if we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? Our time, thoughts, treasure, and deeds will give us good insight on whether or not we have really left all behind to follow Jesus, God Himself, Whose call for all of us is to deny ourselves, take our cross, and follow Him daily.