Jeremy L. Berg

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. (Mark 4:35-36)

When you follow Jesus, he always drags you to the other side.  The other side of normal. The other side of comfortable.  The other side of safe. The other side of popularity.  The other side of the tracks to love and serve other kinds of people different than you.

How has following Jesus taken you to the other side?  Have you wandered courageously to the other side of the lunch room to introduce yourself to someone in the other crowd?  Has Jesus led you to see the other side of an argument, to give the other person the benefit of the doubt?

Has following Jesus led you to the other side of the globe to serve people on a missions trip?  Perhaps, you set out to college to get a degree that could earn you a comfortable job and stable income, and now Jesus has led you to another vocation that pays less but reaps more Kingdom fruit.

Most of us, like the disciples, probably would prefer to stay put on this side, but Jesus words continuously call to the other side of comfortable.  So, listen again to his words: “Let us go across to the other side.”

Will you follow?