Following Jesus

 I recall playing the game “follow the leader” as a child.  Whatever the leader did, we did.  For the Christian, following our leader is a way of life.  Jesus commanded us to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that He commanded (Matt. 28:18-20).  He also stated that our love for Him is measured by our obedience to His commands (John 14:15).  When a rich man asked about eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor and follow Him (Luke 18:18-23).  The Apostle Paul understood this principle when he wrote, “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1) and “. . . not I but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).  In Philippians Paul clearly states that his life was consumed by Christ and the desire to live for Him surrendering all that he had.

So what is the point?  Well there are several implications of being a true Christian.

The first is that we are not our own, we have been purchased by Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20).  This means that He is our Master and we are to seek Christ in all things.  Stop dictating to Jesus and start asking what He wants.  Stop asking Him to bless your plans and start obeying the plan He has already established.

The second is that we are to love God and others above ourselves (Matt 22:37-40; Phil 2).
This means we share our faith and our lives with others.  We need to seek to be involved in the lives of others teaching them what it means to love and follow Christ.  Start getting involved in the lives of others.  Tell them about Jesus, meet their genuine needs, feel their pain, celebrate their joy, tell them the stuff they don’t want to hear but need to hear and hold them to it.  Remind them constantly of God’s love by showing it.

The third is that we are to follow our leader, the Lord Jesus where He is leading and doing what He leads us to do.  How do we know where or what that is? We pray, seek the scriptures, and pay attention.  We often follow Jesus when it is convenient, but the truth is, that truly following Jesus most of the time is all about inconvenience, discomfort, and sacrifice. 

There are many who claim to follow Jesus.  Just like the rich man in Luke 18, they do “good things” and want to find a way to have eternal life while at the same time keep their stuff, schedules, priorities, wants, comforts, and conveniences.  They want to be Christ followers without following Christ as leader.  This may appear legalistic but Jesus referred to it as freedom.  We are free from the sin that keeps us from following Christ and we are left with an abiding love for Him.  Following Christ is less of a “have to” and more of a “get to”, this is the nature of grace.

Who or what are you following?  What do you need to give up or lay down to follow Christ, loving Him and others?  May we “be” the church that Christ has saved us to be so that we can “do” what Christ has commanded us to do.