Following After Christ, by Morgan

Luke 9:23 - And He said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

      It’s not an option. You can’t do away with it. If you are going to follow Christ, then you’ve got to follow Him 100%.

      Christ doesn’t take part-time followers. He doesn’t take wimps. He doesn’t take people that are on the fence. He only takes those who are all for Him. He only takes those who will give their all for Him. He demands your all.

      “Now that’s just silly!” You may say. “He doesn’t do that! If He did that He wouldn’t have any followers!” If you think that, then that is where you are wrong, my friend. He does indeed demand all, and yet millions follow Him. Why? Because those millions know that He is the only Way, the only one worthy of being followed, the only Way to God; therefore, they follow Him with everything they’ve got because He deserves everything they’ve got - and so much more!

      Following after Christ, as that verse in Luke says, takes everything. You must do three things: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him. What does each of these mean?

      Denying yourself means pushing aside yourself, pushing aside your own desires, wants, and needs, and focusing on something else instead of on yourself. This is definitely not as easy as it sounds. Pride and selfishness constantly get in the way and try to make you love yourself more and Him less. In order to love Christ more you must spend time with Him, get to know Him, grow closer to Him. When you are faced with a decision between spending time with Christ and doing something else that you want to do your decision will speak for the state of your heart. Don’t take me wrong though, we all fail, we “all fall short of the glory of God” consistently every day of our lives. It is only through the strength that Christ gives us that we can draw the courage and strength and initiative to go on.

      Taking up your cross daily - that’s a harder one. What did taking up the cross mean for Jesus? It meant that He took upon Himself the burden of our sins. For us it means that we take upon ourselves the burden of the lost. Christ paid the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is tell everyone about it. You can see that in comparison, the suffering that we must go through verses the suffering that our Lord went through are on two opposite sides of the chart. He went through so much for those who tortured Him. We go through so little for Him who died for us. See the contrast? “Amazing love! How can it be that thou my God should’st die for me?”

      Taking up our crosses daily means that we DAILY seek to do His will and tell others about Him and be shining lights for His glory no matter what the cost. The word “daily” implies that He is most important to you. If He is not at the top of your priorities list then He probably isn’t truly there at all. That may sound incorrect but when you think about it, it’s true. If Christ isn’t first and foremost in your life – where He should be – then can you really say that He is in you? Like I said before, He demands total loyalty or nothing.

      What does it mean to follow after Christ? Put in terms more in our understanding, what does it mean to follow after your Dad? To follow after your Dad is to do what he does, walk where he walks, say what he says – always trying to be like him in as many ways as possible and trying always to do what he wants you to do. You do this because you love and respect him, and therefore you wish to be like him.

It’s the same with Jesus. To follow after Christ is to strive to do as He did, walk where He walked (metaphorically, not physically), say what He said, let His light shine through you – always trying as hard as you can to be like Him in as many ways as possible. Following after Christ means striving to be like Him and striving to serve Him with all you’ve got.

Ever heard the phrase: “love is a verb”? It’s so true! Think about it. Is your love for Christ manifested through how you live? Do you love Christ so much that there is no doubt in the minds of those around you that He is at the top of your priorities list? That He means the most to you? That you are striving constantly to follow in His footsteps?

Are you following after Christ?