What does it mean to follow God?
I`ve often thought of it as game of Follow the Leader, where we trot along behind Him doing what He does. Jesus loves the poor and downtrodden, so I try to do the same. Jesus forgives, and so should I. Jesus leads people to His Father, which is what I want to do.
Yet I can't help but think there is something more to being a follower of Christ than simply mimicking His actions and attitudes.
I keep stumbling across verses that tell me following Him will require leaving something behind, giving something up, sacrificing something...
At once they left their nets and followed him. ~ Matthew 4:20
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ~ Matthew 16:24
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ~ Matthew 19:21
So I guess the real question is... What is it we must give up in order to follow God?
What is He asking you to sacrifice in order to follow after Him wholeheartedly?
If I saw You on the street
And You said, "Come and follow me,"
But I had to give up everything,
All I once held dear
And all of my dreams...
Would I love You enough to let go?
Or would my love run dry
When You asked for my life?
ok this is gonna sound really lame, but I felt very strongly for the last couple months that God was asking me if I could give up watching The Bachelor (my fave show) for Him. I was like, "yeah, sure I can...just as soon as the season is over." I felt VERY convicted, not because of show content necessarily, but because of it's priority in my life. So I finally did give it up when there were only 3 episodes left! Anyone who has watched that show from beginning to end will know what a big deal that is. But the result? Shockingly, I don't miss it at all and I feel closer to God than ever :) I am sure He would've still loved me just as much if I didn't give it up, cuz He remembers that we are dust, but giving it up allows for deeper relationship with Him. :)
ReplyDeleteRachel - I agree! God asked me to give up Grey's Anatomy so that I could honor my husband who hated the sleaziness of the show. And Same Thing! I never missed it, not once!
ReplyDeleteKelly
Have you read Radical by David Platt yet? It would be right up this post's alley. Talk about gaining a different perspective on being a follower. It's awesome.
ReplyDelete