Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? Luke 9:23-25 (NLT)
After writing last week’s post, https://barbaracoulson.com/bold-words/, I’ve begun to look at the different uses of the word follow. In a world where social media is the norm, I’ve realized something. We use the word follow in a much more casual way than Jesus did in today’s verse.
Being a Jesus-follower is a lot different than following someone on Facebook or following your favorite blogger.
Why? Look back at today’s verse. Jesus was the One speaking to the crowd in this passage, and He said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (the underlined is my emphasis)
There is no qualification here. No loop holes for what it means to follow Jesus. Either I’m a follower of Jesus or a follower of my own way. I cannot do both, unless…
What I choose is His way. There is no other way I can live my life my way and still be a Jesus-follower in the purest representation of the name, Jesus-follower.
But this leads me to ask, why were we all created so uniquely if we’re not supposed to be ourselves? Why not just create clones of the “perfect person” who does everything the way Jesus would do it?
Okay, I think it goes beyond the pat answer, “because He wants us to willingly follow Him.”
1 Corinthians 12 & 13 tell a story of just how important our unique differences are AND how genuine love creates unity and harmony through those differences. We discover our differences have purpose and enable us to live the life He created us to live (Ephesians 2:10)
God created us uniquely because He wants to use us uniquely. He has created us with specific purpose. Just as the creator of my food processor realized there were some kitchen tasks a blender doesn’t fulfill as well as the food processor, God knows there are tasks I can carry out in a unique way. There are also tasks He wants you to carry out in your unique way.
And just as I can do without both my food processor and my blender, my task is much easier, more enjoyable, and much less time consuming when I use them.
We become usable when we choose to follow Jesus, but the unique qualities He has given us also lend to the perfect timing of His purpose.
He knows me (and you) intimately. And that has nothing to do with whether we are a Jesus-follower. It also has nothing to do with how closely we do, or do not, follow Him.
He knows how we learn. He knows our fears. He knows what we’ve experienced, our strengths, our weaknesses, our likes, our dislikes. He knows us.
And how intimately He knows us has no bearing on how intimately we know Him. That is the greatest benefit of being a Jesus-followers…
Being in an intimate relationship with Jesus, God in the flesh.
The more we follow Him, spend time listening to Him (reading His word, the Bible), talking to Him (prayer/journaling), and learning from Holy Spirit, the more intimately we will know Him. (Holy Spirit is our Teacher and lives in everyone who chooses to believe Jesus is God, lived a perfect life, died to pay for our sins, rose from the grave three days later, and is in heaven preparing a place for each of His followers).
The more intimately we know Jesus, the easier it becomes to follow Him.
LORD, thank You for taking my sins as Yours and making Your righteousness mine. I want to follow You and Your ways, but I often struggle with wanting to do things my own way. Change my heart, LORD, so I will desire to please You more than myself and/or others. Help me to learn more of You. And help me let go of my old ways of thinking.
And LORD, thank You for each one reading these words today. Help them know their unique qualities are not mistakes, but what makes them perfectly equipped for the good works You created them to do. Help them to see You clearly, so they can follow You well. Give them a greater desire to follow You than their own way. Thank You for hearing our prayers, LORD. Amen.
If you’re not sure you’re a Jesus-follower, you can use the link below to find out how to take that first step to being sure. I’m praying for you, Friend! If you’re walking the fence line between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him, you are in a precarious position that is difficult to live. I would love to see You jump down on the side of Jesus and enjoying the freedom of following Him. https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Catching up on DTLH tonight at work! I was struck by your prayer for clear vision to follow closely. Driving recently in thick fog , I tried to follow the tail lights of the truck in front of me. U have to maintain focus on the one your following and also make sure they are going the direction you want to go( not to the truck weigh station, lol)
My prayer today is that I focus on Jesus and let Him lead me where He wants me to go.