Skip to main content

How Far...

 How far are you willing to follow Christ? ... All the way? 

If the current culture leaves you behind while you're following Christ, are you willing to stay behind Him? 

If we're truly following Christ, popular culture left us behind at the station long, long ago, but staying in one place wasn't what we were supposed to do. The word "follow" is a verb, describing an action, occurrence, or a state of being. So when we use the word "follow" in relation to Christ, what exactly does that mean?

Something to think about while considering...

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone."  John 1:1-4 (NLT)

If you're familiar with the chapter, you know that John was talking about Jesus. What this means adds powerful light to everything we know about what God's told us and what He did throughout scripture - Jesus was there. He knew everything God did and said ... because He "was God" and was directly connected to it.

Add to this what Jesus Himself said to Philip and you know without a doubt that whatever Jesus said and did was in agreement with, and in obedience to, the Father.

"Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me." John 14:9-10 (NLT)

Jesus was with the Father before man's time began and everything that Jesus did and said was in agreement with, and in obedience to, the Father.  "The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."  So what does it mean to follow Jesus - to be a disciple of Christ in that light? We know we're not perfect. God's laws have established that clearly for us, but if we're truly desiring to follow Jesus it should always be our first desire in everything we do, think, say, and allow ourselves to believe, ... to honor God - because that's what Jesus did. I believe that's what it means to follow Him. How far are we willing to go down that narrow path?

Our wide-open, current culture allows so many things in horrific disobedience to what Father God's clearly declared in scripture. Do we know and see the distinction between the world's culture and Father God's? What God's said not only gives us direction, but tells us about who He is. We learn something of His nature and heart from the Word. The creative, passionate beauty of His heart and His anger over sinful disobedience are on display for us to learn from in scripture - His spirit is revealed in His Word ... and His Spirit reveals His Word. 

How counter to current culture is His Word and how far are we willing to go against that culture to follow Christ? Almost all of His original twelve disciples willingly followed Him to their own deaths because they truly believed and were obedient to the commission that He gave them. They followed where He led them in faith and are honored by men and by God because of their obedience. We might say that we follow Him too, ... but how far?

If we want to please God, our heart's true desire and continual intention should be ... all the way.

If we've spent enough time in scripture, we know that God reviles disobedience - He cleared out one third of heavens angels over their disobedience and gave them a sentence that we absolutely want no part of. But sin is disobedience and though we may hold Christ up by the word of our own mouths as our Lamb, does our path indeed follow His? 

How far?


"No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NLT)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This "Christ"mas...

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:8-14 (NKJ) As "Christ"mas approaches it usually finds me refreshing my knowledge and understanding of what I believe that it is that we as "Christ"ians should be celebrating in our observation of the event of Christ's birth. I do this in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

If I Worry At All...

For the last year I've been engaged in a writing project that requires me to answer a series of questions posed over the fifty two weeks of the year. My answer to the last question that I chose to answer is one that I decided to share because it's always on my heart and mind... What do you worry about? I know that worrying itself changes nothing but there are some things that cause me deep worry. And of those particular things, there are none that I have the power to change on my own, but they are instead those that I have to appeal to Christ’s mercy to intercede. I have deep worry for the souls of all of my loved ones because I know that despite all that we might find concern for in our passing through of this world, there’s only one account that will, for all time, require an answer from all of us. That response, having already been made while we journeyed here, will leave us without further opportunity to answer. Our choice, made in this current life, will leave us either pr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Caution And Reverence In These Passing Days

"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."         2 Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV) It's an inescapable fact that we were created by the same God that created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Mankind may say or declare, even forcefully, anything contrary against it, but mankind's warbling has no effect on the truth of what God's said and it'll be proved out when He avenges against their wickedness in defense of His own name. There are those among the secular scholars and Darwinists- the "intellectuals",  that dispu...
Post a Comment
Read more