30 Aug 2015
The biblical concept and command to “follow Jesus” is so obvious and simple to everyone who comes to faith in Jesus! In 2014, thirty teenagers from a rural village in the Philippines expressed wholeheartedly that they want to “follow Jesus”. They did not yet have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible but having heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, they know enough that they need to and want to, “follow Jesus”. These type of incidences have happened throughout the history of Christianity – individuals and groups of people simply proclaiming the desire to “follow Jesus”.
The Bible gives us many examples of what it means to “follow Jesus”. “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” was the invitation that Jesus gave to the two brothers Simon Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4:19. Similarly, each one of us received the same invitation from Jesus sometime in our lives. And we repented of our sins, seeking God’s forgiveness and invited Him into our lives as Lord and Saviour. The Bible affirms: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Hallelujah! By the grace of God the new birth took place – the old is gone and the new has come! At that very moment when we made the decision to “follow Jesus”, He became our Lord and Saviour. We therefore now need to obey His command to truly follow Him. In His last one-on-one conversation with Peter, Jesus issued a challenge and firm reminder, “You must follow me” (John 21:22). To Christians, to follow Jesus is not an option – it is a “must do” command!
Soldiers do a lot of running! As they run, they sing martial songs to facilitate running as a group. One song includes the challenge “How Far?” and the expected rallying cry is “All the way!” Are we following Jesus? How far? The only response from Christians must be “ALL THE WAY!” We cannot follow Jesus part of the way or only when we can commit time in our busy schedule or when it is relevant and aligned to what we are doing in our lives at that point in time or as a token of service or when we are in trouble and need to connect to God.
The Bible tells us that we were redeemed at a great price (1 Corinthians 7:23) and that our lives are no longer our own. We belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8). Jesus in His High Priestly Prayer in John 17 proclaimed: “As you (God the Father) sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world”. Jesus revealed God the Father to His disciples and has in turn commanded us to be His witnesses and to make disciples of all nations, starting with our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to all the nations as well (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
Follow our Lord Jesus Christ? How far? ALL THE WAY!
