Following Jesus or Leading Jesus?
This short devotional piece has been written with Jesus in heart and the hungry Christian in mind. It is definitely NOT a sermon or me preaching to you or at you, but instead something written principally for you to reflect upon in your walk and relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray and hope you find this devotional piece useful and thought provoking. Above all, I pray to God that His Holy Spirit speaks to your heart.
I have called this devotional “Following Jesus or Leading Jesus”; not because it rhymes or sounds good, but because it is an issue close to the heart of Christ and also an area in the Christians walk which could be unidentified. The immature Christian who is still growing will probably relate more to this than a mature Christian who is aware of this spiritual lesson, but nevertheless none of us are perfect and this provides a valuable lesson. As a believer in Jesus, you can either follow after Him in His footsteps, or you can turn around and begin leading Jesus, taking Him to places that sadden His heart and grieve His Spirit. When I say places, I don’t only mean physical places such as bars, clubs or in the footsteps and shadows of the ungodly. No, leading Jesus also means taking Him to places in your heart and mind. You can lead Jesus by your actions, attitude, behaviour, character, desires, ego, friends, habits, music you listen to or even programmes you watch. You can lead Jesus by one week showing love to someone and then the next week losing your rag with them.
Confused? Let me share my personal testimony of how I led Jesus for many years. As a young Christian, I thought I was quite good. I came to church, sang lovely songs, closed my eyes, shook a few hands, read the Bible and smiled a heck of a lot of times. For a few hours on Sunday I would follow the Jesus that I wanted to follow. Do a few of the things He commanded and then turn the tables around and cause Him to follow me. I would stop following Him, and begin living a different lifestyle. It was then that I would begin leading Jesus through my un-Christian lifestyle. Jesus was a stranger most of the week, just lurking in my footsteps urging me to reverse, put my hand on His shoulder and follow Him.
Do you think Jesus wants us to lead Him or for Him to lead us? This isn’t a trick question and there is only one answer. Of course Jesus wants us to follow Him. Following Jesus is like inviting Him into the driving seat of the car and then for us to get in the back seat and just trust and depend upon Him for all our directions.
Let me give you another real-life example of some one leading Jesus. There was a certain young lady in New York who became a Christian. She was a very talented choir singer and piano player and was soon asked to join the choir and play the piano. A few months down the line, certain things were found out about this young lady and her out of church life. She was a cabaret piano player in an ungodly strip dance and drink bar. When asked about this, she said there was nothing wrong with it and that Jesus looks at the heart. She also insisted that she received permission from God to play there. This is an example of leading Christ to suit your needs and lifestyle, however displeasing it may be to Him.
God desires that we stop playing games with Him. He really desires that we stop playing the ping-pong Christian game where one week we follow Him and then for 2 months He is a complete stranger. God desires that we stop saying we love Jesus and His commandments and then consciously disobey Him by where we take Him. If you have been living this Christian life then simply put, you need to recognise the compromises in your life and highlight all those areas where you are leading Jesus. Once you come to this realisation and conviction, repent and ask God’s Holy Spirit to take over and begin the process of converting you into a radical for Jesus. Make the decision to turn around and follow Jesus. Dive in and take the risk and I assure you, God will carry you through and never cause you to look back. Cut off your strings and attachments to the things of the world and tie yourself to Jesus.
Category: Re: Jesus
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About the Author (Author Profile)
Vic Gill is currently serving as a Church planter at Grace Community Church, Richings Park. His greatest aspiration is to love his wife, faithfully expound God’s Word to a dying world and to simply love Jesus and know Him more intimately. He enjoys studying the Puritans, Reformed Theology and Philosophy.
