Follow Me

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

            Christmas is the time of year where someone makes a decision on what will be the next "must have" toy. As a parent I found it to be particularly annoying. The toy most popular was often available in limited quantities or sold out by the Christmas shopping began. Amazingly enough the new emphasis in my shopping is for the latest smartphone, tablet or e-gadget. It’s the same story as with the toys. Some things never change when you are following the crowd.

            Have you ever considered all the parts of your lifer in this world that Jesus is competing with? If not you should just pause and make a list. Just grab a pen or pencil and a sheet of paper and make a list. Or for those of you into the e-gadgets open up your list-making app and make a list. You can start by capturing everything, without regard to order of importance or frequency of involvement. After you have the complete list, then try to place things into an order of importance. Give this serious thought and some serious time because the end result is really important. Now that you have the second list, scrub the list to see if you have been brutally honest and not tried to build the list based on how you would like the list to look. Once you have the "final" list, find out where Jesus fits into your life based on your list. Was He there in your list from the beginning? Was He a late addition? Or did You have to add Him after this question was asked?

            Each of us has been given the same two words as the Disciple Philip in John 1:43. Jesus has said "Follow Me" to all of us at one or more times in our lives. He has called us to be His devoted followers. The Good Shepherd has asked you and I to be part of His flock. When we look at our list from earlier we can discern whether we are part of the flock, a sheep following at a distance, or a lost sheep. The world is filled with distractions. Many look innocent, but in reality can be quite consuming and addicting. We sometimes justify pursuing these distractions as a means of escape from the pressures of daily life on earth. Satan revels in these distractions.

Look again at your list. Is there room for improvement? If we consider the gift of the Three wise men of gold, frankincense and myrrh it was a collection of their very best. Now consider what are gifts we offer in how we follow Jesus. Are giving Jesus our very best? Okay, now let's pray about where Jesus stands on our list and how that can be improved.

PRAYER: Father our world is filled with many delightful distractions designed to distract us. There is little need for justification.  We often run towards the distraction, and in so doing, runaway from Jesus. Help us to see the folly in what we do. Guide us to the light that is found in Christ Jesus. Help us to keep our focus on Jesus when the world screams to divert our attention. This we ask in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.