Running After You

"As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. 'Follow Me and be My disciple," Jesus said to Him. So Matthew got up and followed Him." - Matthew 9:9


If you're out on a hiking trail, what would you rather have - a guide or directions? Before you answer, let me explain the difference.

First, directions. They have to be created by someone who's been there before. They can tell you which way to turn whenever you have a choice to make. They can tell you the major landmarks and probably the places where you'll be likely to take a wrong turn.

Now, a guide. A guide has been on the trail many times before. He knows every little thing about it. He can tell you where every stone is that you might trip over. He can pull the tree branches aside so they don't hit you in the face. He can show you all the beautiful things along the side of the path. When you come to a fork in the road or an intersection, you don't have to stop and figure out which way the map or directions tell you to go, because the guide is there to lead you.

Now you can decide. Which would you rather have? A guide or directions?

Jesus asks us to follow Him. He doesn't want us to just ask Him how to get somewhere. He wants us to follow Him there. He wants to be our guide.

That's something He's been teaching me about - what it means to follow Him. One thing about following Him, is that I have to stay close to Him. Which takes a lot of learning.

Think about your closest friends. You probably know them pretty well. Right? You're so close to them that you know their favorite movie, their favorite music, their favorite place to eat. You know what they dislike. You know what they like to do. And it's not difficult to think the way they would in any given situation. When they ask you to do something for them, you probably don't think twice about it. And you got to that point by talking with them and spending time with them.

It's the same way with God. You get close to Him by being with Him and talking with Him. Eventually you can start to understand the way He thinks. Even if it's not the way you think on your own, you can still choose to see things the way He does. You can understand why He sees them that way. And it makes you happy to see them His way and do things the way He wants them done.

As you get closer to Him, it becomes easier to follow Him. You know Him better, so it's easier to trust Him. You'll be close enough to see the stumbling blocks He points out and avoid them. You'll be close enough to see where He tells you to side step a hole. You'll be able to see and appreciate the small beauties in your life that He points out. You'll even be close enough to see where He wants you to go at those decision-making points. Sure, you'll still have to listen when He tells you where to go, but you won't have to wait as long because you'll hear more quickly.

That's what it means to be a follower of Christ, to let Him be your guide. It means being close to Him, doing what He says to do when He says to do it, without thinking about the alternatives. It means enjoying your life, just because He's a part of it.

When you choose to follow Him, it makes a difference. When Matthew chose to follow Him, he lost his reputation as a "sinner" and left the legacy of a disciple, one of the members of the original church. For me, so far, it's meant discovering how to have a closer relationship with my true Best Friend and how to trust Him more.

What difference will it make in your life when you choose to follow Him?