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Following Christ
Just prior to leaving earth, Jesus told his disciples to “go and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:19) A disciple is a follower of Christ. Notice when Jesus gave this instruction to his present followers. He was preparing to leave. So, obviously, Jesus wasn’t speaking of physically following Him. Rather, he spoke of influencing people to follow His teachings.
Once we have tasted of the forgiveness of God and experienced the freedom it brings from sin, condemnation, and fear, the natural result is to follow God. To do so will result in spiritual growth. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, is a process of becoming more like our heavenly Father.
Just like we will not grow physically without nutrition, we won’t grow spiritually without spiritual food. The word of God, the Bible, is the spiritual food that causes growth in our lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s word brings life and vitality to us that in turn provide power to live a life pleasing to our Savior. King David declared in his prayer to God, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalms 119:11) The greatest discipline we can exercise is to spend time reading and hearing God’s word, the Bible.
Paul encouraged believers in Hebrews to not forsake assembling together as believers. God never intended his followers to walk alone in their faith. Rather, God instituted the church to be a place where believers gather together for encouragement and fellowship.
In addition to reading and hearing God’s word and gathering together with other believers, God wants us to communicate with Him. This is called prayer. Prayer is not difficult. It is simply talking with God. In Luke 18, Jesus told of two men praying. One had all the right and eloquent words and body language to match. The other prayed a simple prayer with a humble spirit. Jesus said that it was the second man who went home justified. God is more interested in our attitude when we come to Him than in the words we say.
If we know there is some aspect of our lives that needs to be different, God’s plan for change begins with our asking Him to change us. This can be a stretching prayer because it may force us to face some things about ourselves that are not easy to change. But if we ask God to change us, He will. Lasting change happens as we partner with God and other believers. Change often takes time. We should not be discouraged but believe that the same God who began a good work in us is able to complete it.
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