Recently, I came across an interesting little Youtube video, which applied Twitter to the story of Jesus' ministry, life, death, and resurrection. I believe I posted it on here last week, so if you'd like to take this chance to go back and check it out, please feel free.
That's gotten me to thinking (always a dangerous thing). One of the things we come across quite often in the Bible is the invitation/command to "Follow Me". Jesus speaks those words to those whom we call His disciples. It's the unspoken invitation of the Holy Spirit when we encounter God's Word. It's the call of God to His people as they left Egypt in the middle of the night, and even as they waited 40 years to take possession of the Promised Land. It's the call of God to a man named Abraham, whose descendants and descendant would ultimately change the world.
Follow Me. It's a gracious invitation from our God, the God who made all things, and who has promised to make all things new again. And we respond to that call. In fact, that's really the only way that we come to know God, when He extends His call to us. Absent that call, we just wander around this life, following whatever manages to capture our attention. And so, we are thankful when God whispers that invitation into our ears and minds. Follow Me.
The thing is, following God isn't the easy road that it has been made out to be. It involves sacrifice. It involves re-thinking the way we live. It involves serving others and considering them as more needing than ourselves. It involves giving up the control we think we have of our lives and watching God do miraculous things that we never expected. It leads to adventure, and to danger. It leads to hope, and also to having our good name tarnished by others.
And yet, God makes one consistent promise. Follow Me, and nothing can take you from My hand. That's the promise that is attached to the invitation/command (and yes, it really is a command as well as an invitation, but more on that later). And that's the promise we cling to as we follow God, and as we follow Jesus, wherever He may lead.
That's gotten me to thinking (always a dangerous thing). One of the things we come across quite often in the Bible is the invitation/command to "Follow Me". Jesus speaks those words to those whom we call His disciples. It's the unspoken invitation of the Holy Spirit when we encounter God's Word. It's the call of God to His people as they left Egypt in the middle of the night, and even as they waited 40 years to take possession of the Promised Land. It's the call of God to a man named Abraham, whose descendants and descendant would ultimately change the world.
Follow Me. It's a gracious invitation from our God, the God who made all things, and who has promised to make all things new again. And we respond to that call. In fact, that's really the only way that we come to know God, when He extends His call to us. Absent that call, we just wander around this life, following whatever manages to capture our attention. And so, we are thankful when God whispers that invitation into our ears and minds. Follow Me.
The thing is, following God isn't the easy road that it has been made out to be. It involves sacrifice. It involves re-thinking the way we live. It involves serving others and considering them as more needing than ourselves. It involves giving up the control we think we have of our lives and watching God do miraculous things that we never expected. It leads to adventure, and to danger. It leads to hope, and also to having our good name tarnished by others.
And yet, God makes one consistent promise. Follow Me, and nothing can take you from My hand. That's the promise that is attached to the invitation/command (and yes, it really is a command as well as an invitation, but more on that later). And that's the promise we cling to as we follow God, and as we follow Jesus, wherever He may lead.
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