Joni and Friends
Follow Me

by Joni Eareckson Tada

And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:59-62 (NASB)

Jesus couldn’t have made it any clearer. The words, “follow Me” carry a strong and serious sense of mission. Today, though, in our age of easy believism, when Jesus says “Follow Me,” we imagine He is saying, “Try it out. See how it feels. See if it works for you. Give it a thirty-day, no-risk, free trial.” In other words, though most of us wouldn’t admit it, we follow Him incrementally, in little flashes of fervency. We’re not really all in.

This week, look through the gospels and study how seriously Jesus conveyed a call to His followers. Then shed any and all trappings of your old way of living. Disentangle yourself from every bad habit, then turn and follow your Lord. You are a follower of Jesus, so don’t look over your shoulder at what you might be leaving behind. The path ahead is so much brighter and better with Jesus leading the way.

Lord, today is all I have. I can’t make up for not following You yesterday or last week. And I wouldn’t presume to boast about how I will follow You tomorrow. Today You are saying to me once again, “Follow Me,” and I am faced with the choice all over again. I choose, dear Lord, to follow wherever You lead.

Taken from A Spectacle of Glory

By Joni Eareckson Tada

Copyright © 2016
Published in Print by Zondervan, Grand Rapids

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version.

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