Jesus has His own Twitter account. Well, actually, hundreds of them. Search for “Jesus Christ” on the social networking site, and you’ll find a plethora of twitterers all tweeting in His name—some well-meaning and many blasphemous. The most popular “Jesus” on Twitter has over 34,000 followers!

Hmmm. Would the real Jesus use Twitter? I wonder.

“Follow me,” Jesus said to those first disciples (Mark 1:17). Unlike the rabbis of His day, Jesus wasn’t looking simply for students—people who would sit at His feet and ponder the law. And although it was His core message to others (Mark 1:14-15), Jesus didn’t even call Simon, Andrew, James, and John to “repent.” He called them to follow. This was a greater call than mere belief.

“I will show you how to fish for people!” Jesus added (Mark 1:17). He had a vision for them, a calling that would change their identity—no longer “fishermen” but “fishers-of-men.” This was a call to change.

“And they left their nets at once and followed Him” (Mark 1:18). Jesus’ call claimed priority even over the disciples’ livelihood. This call would reorder their economic lives.

While crowds flocked to Jesus to receive healing (Mark 3:7-10), such people were not His disciples. Demons fell prostrate at His feet, but they certainly weren’t His followers (v.11). To follow Jesus meant giving up everything to do the will of God (Mark 3:35; Luke 14:33).

Would the real Jesus use Twitter? I don’t know. I do know that following the real Jesus means surrendering our dreams, jobs, identities, and finances to Him and choosing His plans for us (Matthew 22:37-39).

That’s not something you can do by simply pushing a button.