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Jul 20, 2023 06:00am

Following

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“…If the Lord is God, follow Him…”
1 Kings 18:21b (NAS)

Who leads you?

We live in a world full of stalkers. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter attract users with the concept of “following and being followed”. We can spy or “creep” on people every day under the guise of scrolling. People we might not speak to at Wal-Mart, we “comment on” or “like” behind a distant screen. I don’t think it’s a mask deceiving situation, but more of a heart issue!

What are we lacking?

I guess it’s worth examining who and why we “follow”. Instagram is a hugely popular and massive platform for over 1 billion monthly active users (March 2023). In first place is the soccer great, Cristiano Ronaldo, boasting 596 million followers. Some might conclude that’s potential for a lot of influence. Notably, we all yield influence regardless of the amount of our following by the world’s standards. We all carry the responsibility of being His light bearers in an ever-growing dark world of deception.

Dr. Tony Evans states, “Jesus is not looking for fans, but followers.” That’s worth noting. Followers can choose to resemble biblical principles and truths depicted in real time. “Follow me as I follow Christ”, is how Paul put it. Our goal should never be for others to simply follow us, but to follow us in pursuing Jesus! That viewpoint might take a skilled SWAT team to locate on social media these days. Sadly, “politically correct” appears to be more the goal in most media than “biblically accurate”.

What is our responsibility?

It’s about now that we wish background music played in our daily activities as a heads up to what’s coming! Seriously, following Jesus is simple, but rarely easy. Pastorsunlikely.com explains, “It’s a blueprint for a world-changing ministry. It’s like a Jesus-centered game of Simon Says.” What lessons are we passing along to our “followers” each day by the choices we make, the reactions we express, the compassion and patience that we choose to give or withhold? I definitely need a few “do overs” thinking back over the last few days.

Following should denote a step by step shaping of choosing to be a disciple. It’s a moment by moment decision to come along behind Christ and to allow the Spirit to light the path that God has set before you.