Guiding Light!
Follow Me!
Book shelves in our time are crammed with writings on Leadership. What makes a good leader, an effective leader, an admired leader? Some believe there is a lack of leaders in our world today: Where are new ones going to come from?
But there may be another question which is equally important. What makes a good follower? In fact, which comes first - good leaders or good followers? In ancient times there were teachers, wise men who gathered younger people around them so they might teach them the ways of faith, of tradition, and relationship. The invitation to join them usually began with the words, "Follow me." To follow the teacher meant to live as he lived, to think as he thought, to become what one saw the teacher to be. Following was an invitation to emulate.
Jesus was sent by God into the world not only to teach crowds and heal the sick, but to spend the majority of His time with a relative few - the ones he invited to follow him. The Biblical writers say that those invited to follow left their ways of work, left their homes, left whatever was normal and comfortable, all to be with Him. They organized their lives around Him. They became a lot like Him. Those who followed became the core of a movement of people who changed their world. Before they were gone, a large part of the known world had heard of Jesus and His message of love.
It could be argued that all of us follow something or someone. We follow after wealth or recognition or success. We follow people who promise us everything and, unfortunately, sometimes deliver on nothing. Know who or what it is you are following, and where they or it is leading you. Many well-meaning followers have been lead in the wrong direction.
Does God actually say "Follow me!" today? Absolutely! What on earth could it mean? Why would someone choose to follow? Think about these possibilities: In order to acquire something of God's beauty and character (the saints did this); to find power to overcome life's tough situations (suffering people have discovered this); to discover the fullness and meaning of a productive life (people who have made a difference in their generation have done this); and/or to discover the magnificence of life here and in Heaven.
Following begins with a declaration: "I will follow." It continues with the intention to renew the declaration on a regular basis. Following means listening and watching. Following means obedience and trust. Following means satisfaction and fulfillment - now and for eternity.
"It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21
In Christ's Service,
Kenny Millhouse
kenny@guidinglightministry.com
http://guidinglightministry.com
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