Following Christ can be a scary thing… at first. Here’s a man from Galilee who invites all to follow Him, no matter what we have done, economic status, gender, race, or religious background. A Jewish carpenter invites all to follow after Him. He says to us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6, NLT). A stranger from Galilee is bringing the scriptures alive, performing miracles, and telling everyone to drop everything and follow Him. He asks us to put everything that we hold most important and dear to our hearts on the back burner and make Him first in our lives. The initial thought of following this stranger can be scary and requires a lot of faith.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father’s name convince you.] (John 14:11, AMP)
When we decide to follow Christ, we renounce our old way of thinking and our previous distorted views. We relinquish our twisted religious thinking and traditional methods. We walk away from what we thought was right to follow after Jesus, the carpenter, who is God’s Son. For His way is right. Jesus comes and turns our entire world upside down, and that can be scary … at first. Once we begin to experience the joy, peace, and all the benefits that come with following Christ, our initial reactions change. We begin to understand that Jesus is the real thing. He’s the right thing. He’s the best thing.
Have you decided to follow Christ? Have you placed your trust in Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Look what Jesus said in Luke 9:57–62 to those who wanted to follow Him:
As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (NLT).
My sister, choose to follow after the Nazarene, the Carpenter, the Holy One of Israel. But you must be ready. Be ready to give up everything to follow after Him.
From the book Walking in Freedom! by Rhovonda L. Brown. Copyright 2011 by Rhovonda L. Brown. Published by iUniverse. All Rights Reserved.