Follow Me

If any man will serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be; if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.
John 12:26

If life is like a road, which road are we on and who are we following on that road? Are we on the crowded, well-traveled broad road that leads to destruction, or are we on the obscure, neglected, and narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14)? Are we following the travelers that seem to be the smartest, that look as if they know where they are going? Are we simply following our own “inner compass” or the example of everyone around us? Or are we following the still small voice of the One who said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life – no man comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6)? In our main verse, John 12:26, Jesus said that if anyone classifies himself as a servant of Christ, there is no question as to whom he is following. That servant quite simply follows wherever his Master leads. What exactly does this look like in a practical sense?
In broad terms, it means that if we are to truly serve Christ, He is the Lord, Master and Boss of our entire life. Nothing is to be omitted from His authority and control. Wherever He leads, wherever He directs, whatever He commands, this is what we do and where we go, for “where I am, there shall also My servant be”.
Jesus has already showed us much of what He expects us to do. The gospels are full of His commands to His servants – love one another, seek to serve others, let your light shine, do not worry, believe on the Son of God, etc. Moreover, the rest of the Bible is equally packed with commands from God to His people as it concerns what He expects from them in relation to God, themselves, fellow believers, and unbelievers. This is our starting point if we are to figure out where our Master is, which is where He expects us to be. We cannot call ourselves servants of Christ and ignore anything of what He has given to us in Scripture, for Jesus Himself told us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
This can play out in many different ways in our everyday lives, and it is far from easy to follow our Lord. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” There are many parts of the Christian life that require us to die to self. Perhaps we feel lonely because the people around us who do not know Christ mistreat us or do not include us in their circle, and we feel that we are missing out on the good things in life. However, the Bible says that there will be a clear difference between the children of light and the children of darkness; if we choose to follow Jesus and be where He is, we are guaranteed, as was the Lord, to face some form of persecution from those who do not follow Him (2 Timothy 3:12).
Perhaps the Lord has not answered your prayer in the way that you wanted or expected Him to answer it; and maybe He has even called you to give up something that you wanted very much to have. This is painful, but it is all part of following Christ as Lord of our lives. If we let go of our own lives and let our Lord call the shots, He may ask us to do things that are unpleasant to us or take us out of our comfort zone. But we can rest assured that He has only the best in mind for us; He knows that perhaps that thing He calls us to surrender to Him was never the best thing for us, and may have actually been harmful in the long run. He will not withhold anything that He knows is truly good from those who walk in His ways (Psalm 84:11).
Do not make the mistake of believing that following Christ is easy or always enjoyable. Paul, the great apostle who reached untold multitudes for Christ, led a life that none of us would ever sign up for – and which he himself would probably have rejected if he knew beforehand what it entailed. He was shipwrecked, imprisoned, and tortured; he went hungry and without shelter; his friends forsook him and he was constantly hounded by enemies of the gospel he preached. Even though his life was often profoundly unpleasant, Jesus Himself assured him that “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And that same grace is sufficient for us, whatever the Lord calls us to do.
Following Jesus certainly has its “down” moments, but we must keep in mind that this world is not our home – we are just passing through it for a time, after which we will be with Him forever. But we need not wait until then to experience the great “up” moments of the Christian life. Those moments can fill our present earthly lives. Our main verse promises that if anyone follows Christ, they will be honored by God the Father. If we humble ourselves, he will exalt us. If we serve Him and others, He Himself will reward us. If we suffer, His Holy Spirit will comfort us. There will be victories. There will be gloriously answered prayers. The Lord will work in awesome and even miraculous ways on our behalf. Our labor of love will bear fruit, as when a person comes to Christ or when a fellow believer is comforted, taught, discipled, and refreshed through our help or example. We have Christ’s assurance that wherever we travel on the road of life, He will be right there with us, providing us with His presence and fellowship every step of the way. No matter what our trials might be, there is no other way of life that is so sweet and spiritually satisfying as the life lived with Christ as Lord. Through it all, we have access to a joy and a peace that is indescribable and found only in Christ’s way.
Where is the Lord on the road of your life today? Are you seeking to be wherever He is, go wherever He goes, and do whatever He does? Or is Jesus a little farther up the road from where you are, gently waiting and beckoning you to follow and to go on with Him from the spot where you currently are? Let us leave aside all the self-centered distractions we encounter every day and fix our eyes on Jesus in order to follow Him and be where He is.