“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:17
Follow me!
That sounds easy doesn't it?
It is such a simple concept we may dismiss it without much thought.
Think again!
What is involved in following Jesus?
First, it means He must be the leader.
To be a leader there must be followers and there cannot be followers without someone taking the lead.
When Jesus invites Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow Him he is asserting that He will be the leader and if they are willing to acknowledge His leadership they are welcome to follow.
Second, a follower must go where the leader takes them.
When these fishermen accepted the call to follow they were not sure where it would take them but they committed to go His way and give up on their way.
Thirdly, a follower must do what the leader does.
Jesus called these fishermen to fish for men.
Why?
Because that is what Jesus did!
Because that is what Jesus wanted to teach them to do.
Their agreement to follow was a promise to learn to do what Jesus did! They would become like Him in their attitudes, in their actions and in their ambitions!
These three statements seem almost too obvious to even mention, don't they?
If you are following Jesus for these three reasons and in these three ways you can disregard this article and accept my apologies for wasting your time.
But if you call yourself a follower of Jesus and you are not acknowledging Him as your Lord then He is not your leader. If He is not your leader then you are not a follower.
If you claim to be a follower of Jesus but you find yourself often drifting in another direction you may not be a follower! Followers follow! So, if you are not going where He goes you are not following and He is not your Lord.
Remember playing the childhood game of "follow the leader"? It was a simple game with straight forward rules. The players choose a leader and then do exactly what their leader does.
If you call yourself a follower of Christ but your attitudes, actions and ambitions do not reflect His, you are not actually following.
The point of Jesus call is this: If you are going to follow - follow where I lead and as I lead or honestly admit you are not a follower.
That sounds easy doesn't it?
It is such a simple concept we may dismiss it without much thought.
Think again!
What is involved in following Jesus?
First, it means He must be the leader.
To be a leader there must be followers and there cannot be followers without someone taking the lead.
When Jesus invites Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow Him he is asserting that He will be the leader and if they are willing to acknowledge His leadership they are welcome to follow.
Second, a follower must go where the leader takes them.
When these fishermen accepted the call to follow they were not sure where it would take them but they committed to go His way and give up on their way.
Thirdly, a follower must do what the leader does.
Jesus called these fishermen to fish for men.
Why?
Because that is what Jesus did!
Because that is what Jesus wanted to teach them to do.
Their agreement to follow was a promise to learn to do what Jesus did! They would become like Him in their attitudes, in their actions and in their ambitions!
These three statements seem almost too obvious to even mention, don't they?
If you are following Jesus for these three reasons and in these three ways you can disregard this article and accept my apologies for wasting your time.
But if you call yourself a follower of Jesus and you are not acknowledging Him as your Lord then He is not your leader. If He is not your leader then you are not a follower.
If you claim to be a follower of Jesus but you find yourself often drifting in another direction you may not be a follower! Followers follow! So, if you are not going where He goes you are not following and He is not your Lord.
Remember playing the childhood game of "follow the leader"? It was a simple game with straight forward rules. The players choose a leader and then do exactly what their leader does.
If you call yourself a follower of Christ but your attitudes, actions and ambitions do not reflect His, you are not actually following.
The point of Jesus call is this: If you are going to follow - follow where I lead and as I lead or honestly admit you are not a follower.
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