Follow

I remember playing a game as a child called “Simon Says”. The leader called out something we were supposed to do, like touch our head. The follower was supposed to do the task ONLY if the leader said “Simon Says…”  Another game we played was, “Mother may I”. We were told to do a task, but we could ONLY do it by asking “Mother, may I?”. As silly as these childhood games seem now, I was learning to respect authority. I learned at a young age the importance of respecting authority and obedience to the law.

After Jesus was baptized and spent time in the wilderness, He was ready to begin His ministry. I think it’s interesting that the first thing He did was ask some fishermen to follow Him. Check this out…

¹⁶ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁷ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ¹⁸ And they left their nets at once and followed him.

¹⁹ A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. ²⁰ He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men. (Mark 1:16-20 NLT)

The compelling invite was given, and these four fishermen followed Jesus immediately. There doesn’t seem to be any hesitation on their part at all. I think the Lord gives me an invitation each morning to follow Him. There are some days when I feel like I’m following Him very closely. There are other days that I feel like I’m following at a distance.

Jesus calls me to follow Him. I have been following Him at some level since 3^rd grade. The longer I follow Him and study His life and ministry, the more consistent my following Him is. I get frustrated when I do something stupid or say something stupid that He would not approve of. I’ve learned to lean into His grace. I’ve learned that His love is a bit ridiculous. Following Jesus is simple, but NOT easy. This world has many distractions and things that take my attention away from following Him. He is extremely patient with me when I’m distracted and/or stumble – He helps me get back on track just following Him.  I want to be known as a Jesus follower. I want to love like He loves. I want to serve like He serves. I want to talk like He talks. I want to walk like He walks. The way He loves makes a strong case for simply following Him and loving and serving just like Him!

Pressing On!

Dwayne