So, I'm sitting there... And, I hear Gunner say to Ember...

So, I'm sitting there... And, I hear Gunner say to Ember, "HEY, I SAID FOLLOW ME!!!" My neck quickly snapped around to see Gunner going back to strongly encourage his lil' sis to follow him in the game in which they were playing. This brief little encounter set my heart to meditating about a little verse found in I Corinthians 11:1 (KJV). That verse says this, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

It is no surprise that Paul used these words! He was one of the greatest Christ-followers to ever live. It is not surprising for another reason, as well. Christ's "calling card" was to call men to follow Him. In today's society following doesn't set well! Economy and industry call for us to lead or get out of the way! I am sure, because of the nature that is in all of us, it wasn't much different for men and women two thousand years ago... There still would have been that demand and desire to lead.

The simple truth is that we are ALL following somebody! Whether it is a trend-setter, an athlete, an entertainer, a pastor or preacher, a car enthusiast, an A-lister, a real estate mogul, etc. We are ALL following somebody! I mean think about it! The social networking site, "Twitter", has us following and begging to be followed! With this truth in mind, who am I following (not on Twitter), and who are you following?! More importantly, where are you following them to?

Jesus said that if we are following Him we will be following Him to two distinct locations... Can you think of them? One we love, and the other is our greatest fear! Have you thought of them yet?

The first is fishing... For men! Jesus said, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Almost everybody loves to follow a fishin' guide to a great fishin' hole! Let me ask you a question (the same question I had to ask myself), "Who is your guide and where is he leading you?" If Jesus is your guide and you're following you should be being led to great outreach opportunities.

Secondly, if we are following Jesus we will be led to our death. As evidenced by Mark 8:34, I Corinthians 15:31, and Galatians 2:20. In these verses we see that following Christ leads us to a daily dying of self. Our being led by Christ should be evidenced by our death to self and sin!

I think it would be safe to say that if we're not, "Fishin' and dyin' then we certainly ain't followin'!"

From my heart,

-R