Follow Me

   I have had this song floating around in my mind for several days. It is from the 60's and goes " I love him, I love him, I love him, and where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow" Wow, do you think that that Peggy March thought about Jesus when she sang those words? Probably not, it is more likely that I am seeing and hearing everything with new eyes and ears, so everything relates back to Christ.
   I have been reading a couple of books that are challenging the way that I think about following Christ. For example, I used to pray and literally beg God to bless what I was doing in His name. I have since learned that God doesn't need my "bright" ideas. He is constantly at work around us and through us, but we busy ourselves to such an extent that I think we miss it a lot of times. I have stopped praying that God would show up to my ministries, and started looking for where He is working so that I can join Him where He already is.
   Have you ever noticed how many times Jesus said the words "follow me"?

Matthew 4:19
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Matthew 9:9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Matthew 10:38
and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Matthew 19:21
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."

The list goes on and on....I tend to believe that if it were not an important action, he would not have spent so much time repeating it, to numerous people.
   So what does it mean to follow Christ.... beats me, I was hoping you knew. I can share with you what I "think" it is. I believe that following Christ means putting Him first, no matter what. I think it requires you to put others second, guess you have figured out where "we" rank, huh? I think that following Christ also requires you to live a live of full surrender, that means that you hold absolutely nothing back, you do not harbor sin in your life. I believe that it means that you spent more time in His word and in prayer than you do watching the T.V. ( I realize that one will not be popular, but anything we allow to distract us takes God's place as number one.) I believe that following Christ requires us to share the truth of His love, mercy and grace every chance we get. How else will they know, this is not something that we can keep to ourselves, not if we are loving others as we love ourselves. If you had the cure for cancer... could you carry on a conversation without bringing it up? This is no different, we have the cure for hurt, hopelessness, abandonment, abuse, anger, addiction, and an eternity of misery.