Follow Jesus

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

(Matthew 16:24)

Meditation

Am I a follower of Jesus Christ? I try to be, but I fail him all the time. It’s not enough to just believe in Jesus. I actually have to follow his example every minute of every day. That’s very hard in case you’ve never tried it. He was a servant to all. He never told a lie. He never committed any sin whatsoever. How am I supposed to live up to that? Following Jesus does not just mean I like what he stood for. Just thinking he was a really good man is not enough either. I could go to church every Sunday of my life and put lots of money in the collection plate and not be his follower. It’s not enough to stand on the sidelines of life and cheer what Jesus wants to do for others. If I really want to say I follow Jesus, I’ve got to get in the race. Quite often that will require us to deny ourselves of earthly desires.

It means I have to think of everyone else’s needs before my own. It means I give sacrificially of my money and my time for the work of God’s kingdom. It means I must be willing to suffer persecution and stand up for my faith when being a follower gets tough. It means I like doing what Jesus wants me to do. It means I try my hardest to be just like Jesus! This all sounds like it hard, next to impossible even. The truth is, it can be hard, and we will fail from time to time. The beautiful thing about being a follower of Jesus is he forgives our inadequacies. He doesn’t hold a grudge when we come up short. He allows us to start with a clean slate with each regrettable shortcoming.

To be brutally honest, it can be extremely tortuous to faithfully follow Jesus. We have no hope of achieving that if we try to do it in our own strength. What does it mean to take up our cross and follow him? It means, when persecutions comes, we don’t back away from him. We all have to realize, persecution will come to us all, in some form, sooner or later. We may not face crucifixion, although some believers in the Middle-East have had to, someone, somewhere, sometime will mistreat you because of your faith. You can prepare for that eventuality with prayer and Bible study, so you’ll be ready to stand against the onslaught of your tormentor. The greatest thing is, you won’t be standing alone. Your Lord and Savior will be standing right there with you.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, your grace and mercy know no bounds. You have given us the greatest gift of all time in your Son, Jesus. In submitting to your will, we declare we want to be followers of Christ. We try to be, but we fail him in some way every day. Remind us, it’s not enough to just believe in Jesus. We have to follow his example every minute of every day. That’s very hard for us, Father, because we’re so selfishly minded. Forgive us, Father, for not being like Jesus and think of the needs of others before our own. Thank you for Jesus, who came as a servant to all. He never told a lie, he never committed any sin whatsoever. To be like him, we must hang our old desires on the cross and leave our past behind. We could go to church every Sunday of our lives and put lots of money in the collection plate and not be his disciple. Being his follower is not predicated on church attendance or money given. Father, please remove our carnal desires and empty us of our own will. Fill us with a Spirit or Christ. It in his name, we pray. Amen!