“As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.”
John 1:36-37 NLT
I wonder if John’s two disciples knew what they were getting into when they decided to follow Jesus. Before them was three years with the Master, the “Lamb of God“, Himself, followed by a demanding but mostly rewarding life punctuated by times of extreme danger, personal discomfort, beatings and, finally, a violent and painful death. That time spent with Jesus was life changing for those two disciples but they never turned their backs on the “Lamb of God”.
But for anyone today there is this dichotomy of choice – we either follow Jesus or we follow the devil, the latter being the default position. If we don’t want to spend eternity with God in Heaven, then we have no need to do anything. No need of going to church, or reading the Bible, or praying to our wonderful Creator. But the choice to follow Jesus will inevitably set us apart from the majority of people in the world, and at times we will feel as though we are swimming against a tide. Here in the West, we will not suffer beatings and a violent death – not yet anyway – but we may experience ridicule and be ostracised, excluded by those who have chosen the common path.
But it is a privilege to be able to follow the Lord. Choosing to be a follower of Jesus means setting ourselves apart from the world. We aspire to grow in our faith, aspiring to be more like Jesus, seeking to please Him at every opportunity. Though we diligently sit in the pews, listening to, and taking part in, the services, what really matters is putting into practice what we are hearing. James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves“. And as a follower of Jesus, we strive to share the Gospel with those around us, making disciples of the Master wherever and whenever we have the opportunity. Being a Christian means a life of joy, as we share in the wonders of the Kingdom of God.
Dear Lord Jesus. As the old hymn says, “I have decided to follow Jesus”. We sing it together today. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 