To Follow
By: Matthew Strickland
All day I have been thinking about what it means to be a follower of Christ. Does it mean that I dress up and goto a building with other dressed up folks? Does it mean that I pray some prayer and then hope one day to end up on the “right” side of the equation? I know for sure those are not the answers, but I keep searching and wrestling with what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
In my search, I pray that God will continue to show me what it all means. Right now I get mixed messages from all kinds of sources in my life. Family, friends, and circumstances try to tell me what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
Andrew and Simon Peter, who were rejected from being a follower of a rabbi during their day, dropped everything to follow a new Rabbi, the Christ. At first, they were left to do the family trade because they did not make the cut. I wonder if they wrestled with the same question I am.
What did it mean for Simon Peter(Kefa) to follow God as he threw his nets into the water everyday? As he walked home, smelling of fish, did his eyes glance up to the heavens and wonder what it was all for?
I feel this longing to make my life matter more than getting married, having kids, a nice home, avoid the “big” sins, and eventually die with no hell.
I want to my life to echo for God’s glory. Or atleast that is what I’m told to do.
As I search, I’ve decided that my attempts are only sucessful if rooted in God’s Word. John calls that Jesus. Deuteronomy calls the Word of God what we live on.
My interest in Jewish History is picking up, I’ve bought 3 books and look forward to seeing what God has for me in those. One thing I picked up was a Jewish New Testament Commentary. It’s a first for me. I do not really know how to use it, but as I read through the New Testament I’ll see what it has to say.
Matthew Strickland
http://www.matthewstrickland.com