These were the first words Andrew said to his brother, Simon, after he had encountered Jesus.

I have been intrigued with these words or perhaps better yet, I have been intrigued with the relationship between Simon and Andrew.

Nothing indicates whether Andrew was older or younger than Simon. But from Simon’s immediate reaction to Andrew’s words, he must have had a great deal of confidence in his sibling. After all, they were in business together, sailed the Sea of Galilee together and presumably shared a great faith in God thanks to their father, Jonah. Simon’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah was initially based upon Andrews’ faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Andrews’ faith in Jesus as the Messiah was based upon John the Baptizer’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah. But there must have been something, early on, that caused Andrew to leave John the Baptizer and become convinced that Jesus truly was the Messiah.

But Simon also left everything, as Andrew had done, to follow Jesus.

At some point, Simon started believing in Jesus as the Messiah on his own, rather than basing his belief upon Andrew’s faith. But isn’t that how it works?

I came to faith via the faith of my parents and grandparents. But at some point, it became my faith. Their influence was stimulus used by the Holy Spirit to get me started but their faith would not be enough to sustain me.

I have often wondered about this influence thing. Who would drop what they are doing, follow Christ, based upon my words or my life?

If the answer is “0” then I need to ask, “What needs to change in my life?” How about you? Who are you influencing to follow Jesus?

Three Scriptures:

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world.”

Esther 4:14 “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Always in Pursuit!

Don