A Gainful Exchange

"Later on, Jesus went out and looked straight at a tax-collector called Levi, as he sat at his office desk. 'Follow me,' he said to him. And he got to his feet at once, left everything behind and followed him." Luke 5:27,28

It seems to me that Levi doesn't leave everything at Jesus' "Follow me" simply because of Jesus' authoritativeness in calling him. Generally - wouldn't you agree? - when we leave something behind for something else, we believe that what we're gaining in the exchange will be something better.

Levi must have seen something of the reality of who Jesus was in His eyes, in His voice, in His person, and felt that all he had was nothing compared to what he was going to gain.

Something about Jesus always whispered the entirety of the Kingdom. 

Do our lives have that essence?