You were chosen

In Jesus' time a student chose his own rabbi, his teacher. Anyone who wanted to learn more about the Torah, the law of Moses, looked for a rabbi and asked to study with him. With Jesus it was the other way round. He did the calling himself: follow me.

That takes the pressure off. You don't follow Jesus because you made such a good choice, but because he chose you. And he chose with a purpose: to go and bear fruit that remains. Being chosen isn't a licence to sit still, but a task with a promise.