The greatest concern of a lot of people when they realize Christ has called them to follow Him is that they have to leave something(s), in order to be able to follow Him indeed.
Truly, that a man has to follow Jesus means he has to leave somethings behind and simply pick up other things that are given to him. To think that you can follow while you still remain the same, cling to the same things, and just put Jesus somewhere in it all is mere wishful thinking.
The beautiful thing about following Jesus is that He does not take away those things from us to hurt us, or strip us off good things. What He simply does is to make those things stay in their rightful place, fulfilling the purpose for which they are given to us.
MATTHEW 19:27-30
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
The truth however is that He can decide to take some out completely, as a result of their irrelevance to our walk with Him. Whatever He decides to leave and put in its rightful place, or whatever He decides to take out because of our need to follow Him end up working together for our good.
ROMANS 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
All things include beautiful relationships that have to end or be redefined. It also includes new assignments and responsibilities that have to be embraced with all joy. Also, it sometimes includes visions and plans that have to be given up for His own plans to be accomplished in us and through us.
All Peter and Andrew knew how to do was to fish in the Waters and make a living from doing so, then they met Jesus and was told to follow Him. This changed their location of fishing and the kind of “Fish” they were expected to catch for the Master.
MATTHEW 4:18-19
“Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers. They were Simon (his other name was Peter) and Andrew, his brother. They were putting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” At once they left their nets and followed Him.”
Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Samuel, Elijah, Moses , Peter, Paul, Stephen, even Jesus, Etc, had to follow God before they got a place of positive relevance and reference in God’s unfailing Word -The Bible.
To claim to follow Jesus when all you do is try to fit Him into your plans, goals, relationships, time, and every other thing is to live in deception. Until He is the one who decides all that you are, have, do, or become, you are not in anyway following Him. Until then, you are actually leading yourself and asking that He comes behind , and this is definitely not going to happen.
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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