Focus: Follow Me!

Text: Jh.1:43

"Follow me."

In John 14:1, Christ says, "BELIEVE also in me." In Matthew 11:28-29, he says, "COME unto me… TAKE my yoke upon you, and LEARN of me…" In Matthew 28:19, He says, "GO ye into all the world…" In Matthew 18:6, He talks about the little ones who "BELIEVE in me…" He started His public ministry with the words, "Repent ye, and BELIEVE the gospel" (Mk.1:15). John writes, "But as many as RECEIVED him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that BELIEVE on his name" (Jh.1:12). Here we can see that receiving and believing go together. In reality, receiving is same as believing.

Christ demands that we believe in Him. Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Act.16:31). 

We are saved by believing in and receiving Christ into our hearts and lives, but beyond believing in Christ and being saved, Christ requires of us to follow Him.

He spoke more about following Him than believing in Him. It is not enough to believe in the Lord; we must follow Him. As a matter of fact, it is a matter of contradiction to believe in Christ without following Him. What gave Joshua and Caleb a pride of place in Israel and before God was their commitment to wholeheartedly follow God, not just believe in Him. 

The Scripture says concerning Caleb, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully…" (Num.14:24). God said about Joshua and Caleb, "For they have wholly followed the LORD" (Num.32:12). Do you know that God would not allow those who came out of Egypt from twenty years old upwards to enter the land of promise, and God's reason was that "they have not wholly followed me" (Num.32:11). Caleb possessed the land of Canaan because he had wholly followed the Lord.

The demand of God upon us is not only to believe in Christ, but also to fully follow Him. Jesus Christ said to the rich young ruler, "Come, follow me." He said to His disciples, "If any man serve me, let him follow me…" (Jh.12:26). He said to Peter, "Follow me… Follow thou me" (Jh.21:19,22). He said to Peter and Andrew, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Mt.4:19). In Mark 6:1, we read that "his disciples follow him." Finally, in the book of Revelation we read, "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth" (Rev.14:4). That is the bottom line - following Christ everywhere He goes. 

He leads, and we follow. This is divine adventure. Those who trust God enough, they follow Him. Believing and following should go hand in hand. As we follow, we learn from Him. True disciples follow their master; that is truly what they do. Also, it is critical and vital to know that the cost of believing in Christ lies in following and imitating Him. He is our guide, master and leader, and His instruction remains, 'Follow me.' Indeed, what He says to one, He says it to all. So, let's follow the Lord, both individually and collectively!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter