12/03/2026
What About Us? We Have Left Everything and Followed You”: A real question while adoring and serving the lord!
This question arises from a heart that has sacrificed much. Peter and the other disciples had abandoned their nets, their professions, their familiar routines, and even their securities to walk with Christ. However, along the way, things seem difficult or demanding that’s why Peter had to ask Jesus, “What about us? We have left everything and followed you.” (Matthew 19:27). I treat this question not much of a complaint but a genuine concern, a concern that emanates from daily realities that one cannot ignore; it’s a longing, a very desire to understand the value of commitment and surrender to the Lord as well as assurance of better ends.
As a seminarian, religious and missionary, this question is real. I have asked it before and I also hear it in pastoral endeavors. It is really a question that I feel echoes in many hearts, especially when we leave our daily duties, work, studies, problems, and crises among other responsibilities to spend time in Eucharistic adoration. In a world driven by productivity and constant activity, social media, stepping away from ordinary engagements to kneel silently before the Blessed Sacrament may appear unnecessary or even wasteful. Like Peter, one might ask, “ What about us who have left everything, even if only for an hour, to come and adore you?
Yet the mystery of adoration reveals a paradox of the spiritual life that also speaks to our human realities. In leaving everything for Christ, we gain everything in Christ. Adoration invites us to imitate the apostles’ radical choice and Jesus’ promise of rewarding them a hundred fold is clear. When you abandon, pause or spare your busy schedules or assignments or engagements of all sorts and be with Jesus, something profound happens. This act resembles the disciples leaving their fishing nets by the Sea of Galilee and that of Mary leaning on Jesus ( Luke 10:42; Mathew 4:20). What are you leaving just to be with Jesus at that holy hour? It looks like an awkward choice but an awesome decision of filial love which shows Jesus to be more important than other things.
Hence, following him is a sign of seeking him and all what his kingdom holds for us ( Mathew 6:33). We need to be convinced that a genuine surrender before Christ renews the soul, heals wounds, clarifies confusion and confirms our plans or directs them to their proper end. The time may seem externally unproductive, but immensely fruitful spiritually. What appears as inactivity is actually deep communion with the one we love but above all, the one who loves as much and is willing to risk everything so that we lack nothing (1 John 4:19).
Moreover, we are not merely of the world but ultimately of the kingdom such that, while the world measures value through productivity, efficiency, and visible results, the kingdom of God measures value through love and presence. From that presence flows grace for work, strength for service, patience for suffering, and love for others. Thus, when Peter asked Jesus, “What about us?” the Lord reassured him that no sacrifice made for the Kingdom is ever lost. Every moment given to Christ is transformed into a blessing. He will surely not pass you by but hear your cries and take them to his Sacred Heart!
SC. Aaron Nkumbula Chileshe
