When I was a child, my friends and I played “Follow the Leader.” Walking single file, we would mimic the actions of the person in front, swinging our arms, making a circuitous path, trying to keep up so as not to be left out. A silly pastime, but it provided laughter and simple entertainment.
The childhood game is not so far from our adult world of reality. For centuries people have looked for someone to follow. Missionaries lead trips in an effort to help the less fortunate in third world countries and inner-city neighborhoods; a crusader’s call draws those willing to fight for justice in cases of discrimination or prejudice; the charismatic promotes acceptance of a cause or particular way of life.
All of us live following some kind of leader…
a politician, a spiritual guide or mentor, a philosophy or school of thought.
The question of whom to follow is not a new one. It’s been asked for centuries. It was inferred by the scribes of the New Testament. Clearly, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were passionate about who or what they followed: the teachings of Moses and other forefathers of the faith.
So diligent were they in their focus that when the Messiah appeared on earth, the One who came to fulfill the Law, they missed Him.
It’s interesting to look at those who did follow Him, who had “eyes to see and ears to hear.” They may have seemed unlikely candidates of God’s grace; yet they responded to Jesus’ call.
To Peter and Andrew, salty fishermen casting their nets into a lake, He said,
“Come, follow Me…and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
Hearing Jesus’ invitation, Matthew left the booth where he was collecting taxes, “…got up and followed Him” (9:9).
When Jesus healed the blind beggar on the road to Jericho, the man “…followed Jesus, praising God” (Luke 18:43). Zacchaeus, another tax collector, did more than follow. He made right his wrongs, giving half his possessions to the poor and repaying more than he owed to those he cheated (19:1-10).
Their “following” wasn’t always physically trailing along behind; the woman at the well, the one delivered of demons, the outcast and broken all turned from old habits and lifestyles to follow His example for living.
Something happens when people respond to Jesus’ call; in a moment’s time, they leave what they are doing, say good-bye to family and friends, give up jobs, and abandon former lives to find new life in Him.
Saul’s life was forever changed on a Damascus road when He met Jesus, the very Name he set out to destroy. Though physically blinded by his encounter with the Savior, he “followed” the instructions and for the rest of his life “followed” the leading of the Holy Spirit as the apostle Paul.
He and other first century evangelists and pastors faced the challenge of a society following a variety of religions. Leaders enticed people to join their causes, to follow mystery religions and worship of the occult, which were popular pagan practices. Imagine Paul’s dismay as word reached him of disagreements among Corinthian churchgoers over which church leader to follow. One said he followed Paul, and one Apollos; another claimed to follow Cephas, and yet another followed Christ (1 Corinthians 1:12).
They had seemingly missed the point; they were not to follow a man – any man – but to follow Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior, a claim no human could make, “…for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) but the name of Jesus.
Similar concerns are expressed in Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus and the letters written by the apostle John. New pastors of church plants faced congregants who were swayed by heretical teaching, influenced by Hellenistic culture, who bought into philosophies such as Gnosticism. Grasping at anything, people searched for the truth, yet were deceived by the father of lies who tantalized with an appeal to intellect and self-satisfaction.
Sounds sadly similar to what we see today – in the world and in the church. Deafened by the noise of their surroundings, many give into their own desires and “follow their hearts,” instead of surrendering their hearts to God. All too often we hear:
“It really doesn’t matter what ‘religion’ you choose; all roads lead to the same God.”
“How can a loving God send people to hell?”
“I know I shouldn’t do this, but God will forgive me.”
They want the security of heaven while singing, “I did it my way.” Yet a person can only follow one master.
For those who do follow Him, Jesus gives a promise: “Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus said, “My sheep know My voice” (John 10:27). For those who follow Him continually and consistently, His voice is a familiar sound. And His call to believers in any era is the same: “Take up your cross and follow Me” (see Mark 8:34).
Jesus told His disciples a time would come when “…many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). People who don’t know His voice will follow the wrong leader; sadly mistaken, they will be doomed for destruction.
Lately I’ve been asking myself,
So, whom are you following?
Do you still know His voice?
Do you still hear when He calls?
Or has the noise of the world impaired your hearing, making His voice faint and difficult to distinguish?
Like the Pharisees, do I place more value on my own passions than those of my Savior? Am I drawn to follow my heart, to be popular or admired, sought out or praised? Or is my heart’s desire to follow the One greater than traditions, greater than any earthly pleasure, greater than any religious leader – past or present?
Can I say with the songwriter,
I have decided to follow Jesus...
...though none go with me, still I will follow...
...no turning back...no turning back...
September 2011