Follow Me!

I find at times that when God is trying to teach me something, it is like drinking from a fire hydrant. The water is very refreshing, but the intense power knocks me on my bottom and I have to spend some time reevaluating where I am before I can get up and move on with my life.

I have been impacted by the simple words of Jesus to his disciples when he simply says, "Follow me." There are so many things to take into account when you look at these words. The first of these is that Jesus gave them the choice to follow. God wants you to follow Him because you want to. He will never force you to do anything that you don't want to do. He gives you the ability to make a choice about how you will live your life and what vision and passions you will make the priority in your life.

I also notice that Jesus does not give them the opportunity to give Him a list of reasons why they couldn't follow. You either choose to follow or you don't. God wants your commitment, not your excuses. What are your excuses for not doing what you know God has called you to do?

The invitation to follow was about Jesus and only Him. The journey was always to be about Him. How many times have you heard the saying, "It's not about you!"? Following Jesus shouldn't be the first thing in your life, it should be the only thing in your life.

I recently read in an article in Worship Leader Magazine by Glenn Packiam that your role as a follower of Jesus is one of the few roles in your life in which you are completely irreplaceable.
I thought about this for quite a while. What are my roles? I have a great number of them, some of which are: cooker of dinner, doer of laundry, typer of the bulletin at church, answerer of phones at work, maker of wedding invitations, player of the keyboard on worship team, etc. If I am completely honest with myself, I could say that in all of these roles, even though I am pretty good at all of them, I am completely replaceable. Someone else could cook dinner and do the laundry (they probably won't, but they could!). Someone else could type the bulletin, answer the phone, make the invitations and play the keyboard.

Everyone has unique irreplaceable roles. For me, there are five: my role as daughter, my role as big sister, my role as wife, my role as mother and my role as a follower of Jesus. These roles all have to do with relationships, not what I do.

My role as a follower of Jesus is the most sacred and permanent role in my life. No one else can give my life and heart to Him. No one else can love God for me and I believe that love is what He really wants from me.

I think so many times in our Christian lives, especially for those in ministry, we think our role is to "help" God accomplish His plan. I recently read a story that likened working for God to a three year old little girl who climbed up on her Daddy's lap offering to help him do work on his computer. When she was through pounding out letters and numbers that made no sense. She climbed down and her Daddy quietly erased her work and continued writing the way it was supposed to be. The little girl left warmly satisfied that she had helped her Daddy. Daddy was delighted simply by the time he got to spend with her. Is this an accurate picture of your relationship with God? It is about spending time with your Father, giving attention to what is important to Him, not being as concerned about the outcomes and measures of accomplishment, but simply following and loving Jesus.

Your identity should not be wrapped up in the replaceable, functional roles in your life, but by the one thing that can never be taken away from you. You are a child of God. You are a follower of Jesus.

Wow! That seems so very simple, but I know that it isn't. The society I live in tells me that I should be my priority. My plans, my goals, my accomplishments and my dreams should be the things that I use to mold my priorities and make my decisions for how I live my life. In the story of Jesus calling his disciples, there is nothing further from the truth of His call. There is no room for Kim in Jesus' invitation to follow Him. I have to learn to make every single part of my life all about Him.

I have so much to learn!!!