Come, Follow Me!

This post is written to link with Five Minute Friday: write for five minutes on a one-word prompt. The prompt today is “follow”.

“”Come, follow me,” Jesus said.” (Matthew 4:19 NIV)

At its heart the Christian life is a call to follow – to be open to God’s leading, to do what he asks, to attempt, like Jesus, to do only what we see the Father doing.

Sometimes it can be hard. Are we truly following God, or are we being swayed by the voices around us?

Following Jesus looks different for each person. When we’re seeking to follow, others may not understand. His calling for each one of us is different.

After Jesus’ resurrection, when Jesus spoke with Peter, he shared something of what lay ahead for Peter as he continued to follow, but when Peter asked about John, Jesus’s reply was simple: “What is that to you? As for you, follow me.” (John 21:22 NLT)

If we’re going to follow, our eyes must be on God rather than on those around us.

Following is also sacrificial. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”” (Matthew 16:24 NLT)

In a world that is obsessed with comfort, which encourages us to look out for number one, Jesus calls us to give up our own desires and comforts and to follow him.

It doesn’t mean it’s always easy to discern. This week, I’ve seen the fruit of serving sacrificially in one situation, but I’ve also wrestled with another, where I see a need but don’t know if stepping in to meet it would truly be following or only attempting to fix it.

It’s not about following rules; it’s about following a person, and the only way we can do that is by staying close to him, listening to his voice, and going where he calls us.

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