Today is being observed as Sanctity of Life Sunday in many Christian churches across our nation.  We have just viewed a video in which we've learned God knew our name even before we were born.

          Whether born or unborn, human life is sacred.  The late Hubert H. Humphrey, former Senator from Minnesota and Vice President, once said, "The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children;  those who are in the twilight of life, the aged;  and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."  I believe that's also true of a church.  How we treat all stages of human life is a test of our Christianity.

          Whenever I read about Jesus calling His disciples to follow Him, I am struck with how quickly they responded.  The Bible says they left what they were doing and followed Him right away - no excuses, no foot-dragging, no delays.  They didn't say, "I need time with my family.  Let me close up shop."  They just left their work and followed Him.

          Some have said their fishing work was hard and smelly and bad, so they were glad to leave it.  But I'm not sure.  Fishermen made a good living.  They weren't poor.  They often had hired men to help.  They lived in decent houses.  Fishing was respectable work, even if it didn't require a formal education.  It was like farming the sea for food.  And these men left respectable work and homes and livelihood to follow Jesus.  They heard His call and they followed:  Peter and Andrew, James, John.  And others followed also, men who weren't fishermen:  Matthew, Philip, Nathaniel, and even Judas.

          Today people are still following His call.  They may not deal in fish, but they deal in computers or sales or education.  They may not spend their lives in ships, but they work in offices or warehouses or cars.  They, too, work hard and feel the stress of their labor.

          Modern disciples hear the voice of Jesus and follow His call to do the things of God rather than things of the world.  They may make a good living, but they know money is not what really counts.  And they usually cast aside what others seem always to be chasing, the pride and the prettiness and the pettiness of life.  They live for more than fun and frolic.  They're consumers of eternal things, God's things.  Modern day disciples come in all forms and ages of men and women and children, and they all have one thing in common -- they follow the Lord's call!

          A number of years ago I went with several others to Mexico to help build a church.  We went there to help build a new church in Zaragosa, Mexico, the poorest part of Juarez, just across the border from El Paso.  Our Ysleta Lutheran Mission there stands near the border in El Paso.  Ysleta is a converted cavalry outpost, and contains many buildings that house food and clothing banks, daycare center and volunteer quarters.  Our church there is called San Pablo Lutheran Church.

          For many years Ysleta members have been crossing the border to minister to Mexico's poor.  They built an orphanage for children living on the streets.  They began churches in Chihuahua and Cikachika, among the Indians of the Tarahumara mtns.  Several years ago they began church services in Zaragosa and today have 150 or more each week.  All these ministries exist because people followed His call.

          There's a lot of poverty there among the tiny houses and cluttered neighborhoods, but their real poverty is of the soul.  We Americans are just like them.  We think we're poor if we can't have the latest gadget.  But our poverty is also of the soul.  Outwardly we may live different lives from the poor people of Zaragosa, but inwardly we're all the same.  We're all impoverished by sin.  We're all living in the squalor of our sin.  And we're all in need of cleansing by Jesus Christ.

          God's people need to follow His call, the call to believe, the call to love and the call to serve.  The call of Jesus Christ is the call to servanthood.  It's the call to leave the things of our sinful human nature and follow the things of God.  It's not an easy call to follow.  Like Peter and James and John, we must leave something behind.  For some, it means giving up our time and our treasures.  It means using our time and talents for the Lord, as well as for ourselves.  But following Him is not really losing anything.  Following Christ doesn't mean we stop having fun or enjoying life.  It means Godly fun and enjoyment, the kind that comes without guilt or remorse.

          Jesus wants us to begin following Him by first knowing who we are.  He calls us to acknowledge our sin and our need for His forgiveness.  Yesterday three of us from Epiphany spent about an hour and a half cleaning about a half mile of ditch in our adopt-a-highway stretch on I-25.  I was amazed at how much more junk there is by the roadside than it looks when you drive by.  Stuff has been there for years.  People throw away or lose amazing things.  I think we have a potential fund raiser there.  Another two miles and we can open a hubcap store!

          What struck me was how much all that junk is like our sin.  We cast it aside and think it will go away, but it doesn't - it just sits there and piles up until it gets so much that we can't avoid seeing it.  If no one removes it, eventually our sin looks ugly, smells bad and clogs the drains of life.  We need someone to remove it and Jesus is that someone.  We saw so much trash in just a half mile, but I can't imagine how God can forgive the trash of sin we collect every day.

          But in Jesus Christ He does forgive it, and I love Him and thank Him for it.  He does it because He loves us and wants us with Him in heaven.  And because He loves us, we can love each other and serve Him.

          Jesus says, "Follow me."  How can we do that?  First, by believing He is God's Son and trusting Him for our forgiveness.  Then we need regular worship and prayer.  We need to worship God regularly, each Sunday if at all possible.  Regular worship is important, just like regular meals, regular exercise and regular sleep.

          It's easy these days to think we don't need it.  People join a church, but then come only when it fits in their busy schedules.  So many think regular worship is optional, but you and I need it every week.  Of course, we can and should worship Him every day, but Sunday worship and fellowship is more important than we think.  And so is daily prayer.

          Following His call means we answer His call to serve.  Look at your bulletin, our newsletter or just look around you.  God can use our service in dozens of ways.  We can make the time to serve if we look at all the needs all around us.

          Following His call means stretching ourselves.  It means stepping outside our comfort zone.  Years ago, I rarely heard the phrase, "I'm not comfortable with that."  Now I hear it all the time.

          But God doesn't call Believers to be comfortable all the time.  He calls us to step outside our comfort zone.  The Disciples did.  They left it behind to follow the Lord.  Jesus did.  The way to the cross was not comfortable.  Jesus came, not to be served, but to serve and give life for us.  Following Him means the same, service and giving.  We're not members of Epiphany just to be served.  We're here to worship Him, and then to follow Him by loving and serving.

          Listen to the call of Jesus, my friends, and follow Him.  He heard the call of His Father and He followed.  It's a call to grace and mercy.  It's a call to service that rewards.  It's not just a call to Mexico, but to Colorado, to Castle Rock, to Littleton, to your neighbors and your fellow workers.  It's a call you're hearing right now.

          For all us football fanatics, next week is Super Bowl Sunday, or, as some say, Super Sunday.  It could be really Super if we follow His call.  Worship Him every Sunday.  Serve Him every day.  Pray every day.  Share the Good News and the hope you have within you.  Love God and love His people, whether born or unborn.  Follow His call.  That's what He's done for us.  And so can we do for Him.  Amen

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.