Following Jesus is the right thing to do, and the best
thing we can do for ourselves and for others we love and care about. And it is the proper thing to do if we
appreciate our loving Creator who has given us life and who has given us all
the good things we enjoy. It is what God
wants us to do. But how do we go about
doing it?
When Jesus called the original disciples to follow him, it
was clear how they had to do it. Peter
and Andrew got out of their fishing boats and followed Jesus, literally walking
after him. (Matt. 4:19-20) Matthew got up from his tax-collecting desk
and followed Jesus, literally walking after him. (Matt. 9:9)
But how can we today follow Jesus?
We cannot see him and physically get up from our seat and
follow after him as he walks down the road.
But we can believe that he died for our sins, that
he rose from the dead, that he is alive today, and that he accepts people as
his followers now just as he did back in the first century. Jesus is not visible to us, but that does not
stop him from hearing our prayers and answering them.
So, if you tell Jesus right now that you are sorry for your
past sins, and that you want to leave them behind and begin a new life by
following him, he will hear you and will forgive your sins and will accept you
as his follower.
“‘I will never turn away anyone who
comes to me.’”
—John 6:37
Today’s English Version
Although he is not visible to us, Jesus promised his
followers:
“‘I am with you always, even to the end
of the age.’” —Matthew 28:20
When you become his follower, Jesus comes to live with you
and in you by means of his Spirit—God’s Holy Spirit:
“‘One
who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One
who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal
myself to him. . . . If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him,
and make our home with him.’” —John
14:21, 23
So, we today can come into a personal relationship with
Jesus that is just as real as what the first followers experienced when they
got up from their seats and followed Jesus down the road. We can ask him questions as they did, even
though we can’t see him. And we can
listen to his replies as we prayerfully read his teachings in the pages of the
Bible.
In some ways our relationship with Jesus today can be even
closer than what the first disciples experienced when they could see Jesus and
share meals with him. That is because
everyone who puts faith in the risen Christ is “born again” spiritually as a
child of God. Jesus explained it this
way:
“‘I tell you the truth,
no-one can see the kingdom of God
unless he is born again. . . . I tell you the truth,
no-one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.”’”
—John 3:3-7 NIV
We are born again when we trust in Jesus to save us from
our sins and commit ourselves to obey him.
God then adopts us as his children, sending his Holy Spirit into our
hearts:
“To
prove that you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son,
crying ‘Abba! Father!’” —Galatians 4:6 NEB
(“Abba” was a term Jewish children used when
addressing their human father, and a term Jesus himself used when addressing
his heavenly Father. See Mark 14:36.)
In some way that is beyond our understanding, Jesus
actually comes to live with us and in us when we believe in him and choose to
follow him. Yes, it is beyond human
understanding, and that is why the Apostle Paul refers to it as
“this mystery, which is Christ in you” —Colossians 1:27
NIV
It really is a mystery—beyond human understanding—but the
Bible assures us that Jesus actually comes to live in the hearts of his
followers:
“that Christ
will live in your hearts by faith”
—Ephesians 3:17
NCV
Because followers of Jesus come into this close spiritual
relationship with God as his adopted children, we can find super-human strength
to overcome our inborn tendencies to sin, and we can look forward to eternal
life:
“You, however, are controlled not by
your sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if
Christ is in you . . . he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies though his Spirit, who lives in you.”
—Romans 8:9-11 NIV
So, following Jesus is much more than reading about an
ancient historical figure and trying to live and love the way he did. It is much more than just joining a church
that was founded centuries ago by his early followers. It is a real relationship with a real live
person—the risen Son of God. He invites
you to come into this relationship as his follower. But it is your choice. It is up to you to open the door, to invite
him into your life and into your heart:
“‘Behold,
I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.’” —Revelation 3:20
RSV
You can respond right now to Jesus’ invitation to be his
follower. Turn to him in prayer, and
tell him that you are sorry for your sins—including the sin of ignoring God and
the Bible—and that you now want to leave your sins behind and change your heart
and your life by following him and obeying him.
Even though he is invisible, Jesus will respond to your prayer by
accepting you as his follower. He will
forgive your sins and begin to lead you in the way you should go.