Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:1-2
The title of this article is the same as a well known song in our song books, number 760, Who will follow Jesus? The hymn admonishes us to be dedicated and devoted to the Lord. It is important who we choose to follow, history teaches us men have always followed someone. For example, men like Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, and Teddy Roosevelt all had dedicated followers and their victories are still admired and celebrated. On the other hand, General George Armstrong Custer had dedicated followers too, and we recall how that turned out as well.
Jesus warned of being careful who we follow. Matthew 15:14 says, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Following the wrong person can and will bring harm. We need to follow God and Him alone. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul encouraged them to look to him because of his devotion to Christ. The devil presents other paths to follow but they will bring destruction (Matt. 7:13). Satan also presents following him in a very alluring fashion (Matt 4:4-10), but Jesus plainly states that He is the Way to the Father (John 14:6) and our path to victory.
We follow Christ because He has all authority (Matt 28:18). Whenever we try to follow someone who really doesn’t have the authorized leadership, chaos can and will follow. Sadly, many in our world, who claim to be Godly, don’t respect Christ’s leadership. This always leads to men putting themselves in a position they have no right to be in and make decisions and conduct themselves in a way one never should (3 John 9:11).
We follow Jesus because of his love for us (Rev. 1:5) and that love was demonstrated for us when we were yet in sin (Rom. 5:8).
It is through His love we are saved from destruction (John 3:16), and by following Him we can be that example that brings the lost to Christ (Matt 5:13-16).
By Jason Barger