Follow Me

Weekly Update – May 8th, 2025 

The Biblical command issued by Jesus throughout the gospels to those who would be his disciples is, “Follow Me.”  We saw this clearly last Sunday in Luke 9:23.  Here Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Now, every passage in the New Testament in some way or another gives us this command.  As we have seen so far in the gospel of Luke, every time Jesus heals, every time he teaches and every time we see a display of his power, the implicit call is to follow him.  Therefore, for the sake of clarity, let’s take a look at what the command from Jesus to follow him actually looks like in our lives as Christians. 

First, when confronted with the call to follow Jesus there are only two responses:  turn and run or bow and worship.  Eventually everyone will respond through bowing and worshipping Christ as Philippians 2:10 says, “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow.”  The question is when?  If it is now in this life, then we will bow in praise looking forward to the forever joy of being with our savior.  If it is after this life is over, then we will bow in submission as a conquered foe being sent to exile and forever separation from God.  When confronted with the majesty of God and the glory of Christ shown through his sacrifice on the cross, bowing in worship should be our only response.  Bowing in praise and worship in this life is more than a verbal affirmation though.  It is life devotion, repentance from sin, and a desire to serve Jesus Christ in everything.  Follow Jesus by bowing before him in worship.

Second, following Jesus means that we will be transformed.  If we believe in Christ, we are then united to him.  This means that everything Jesus accomplished in his life, death and resurrection is now ours.  Through this uniting we have a wealth of resources at our finger tips.  Two of these resources being that we have the righteousness of Christ covering our sin and we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  Through this uniting and all that comes with it, we are transformed in our thoughts, our desires, our will, our relationships and even our purposes in this life.  This transformation process takes our entire lives, but what we find is that as it grows in our hearts and minds, we too grow in greater satisfaction with Jesus.  Follow him and be transformed.

Thirdly, if we turn to Jesus and our lives are transformed, we are then enabled to carry our cross daily. This is, what we might say, the crux of living as a Christian. Jesus is working in this world to advance his kingdom, he is worthy of all glory and our absolute surrender, and he has clothed every single believer with his power.  We now all have the same purpose in this life – preach the gospel to the world.  The world is lost, God’s word guarantees the salvation of many and we all have been given the Holy Spirit; therefore what other option do we have?  Carrying our cross means that we respond with open hands desiring God to take and use our lives as he wishes for his purposes.  God does not merely get a seat at the table, but he is the director of our lives, the one we obey, and his will is what we pursue.

Following Christ is more than simply a call to pray a prayer or sign a card and then live your life however you please.  It is a summons to lose your life in this world and devote all that you have to worshipping and serving Jesus.  To rightly know Jesus, to properly serve Jesus and to longingly see Jesus one day, it is imperative that we understand what this command means.  I pray that as we walk our way through the gospel of Luke that this command will show itself clear as we continue to examine the call of Christ to follow him.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson