Scripture
Our verse for today comes from John 10:27, ” My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. “
Background
There’s a one-panel comic strip called The Lockhorns which takes a humorous look at a couple whose marriage is, let’s say, less than perfect. The wife routinely needles her husband about his weight and lack of income, while he conveniently takes jabs at her cooking. Sitting at dinner, he quipped, ” I’ll need a sports drink, since this tastes like a catcher’s mitt. ” With knife in hand, he warned the guests, ” Stand back while I carve the gravy. ” As they tried to catch a mouse, he asked her, ” What’s the point of using a humane mousetrap if we bait it with your meatloaf? ” To his buddy at the table, he explained, ” Loretta cooks with love…tough love. ” And the closest thing to a compliment he could give her was, ” The best thing about this meal is that it shouldn’t take long to biodegrade. ” In general, he could sum up his feelings for his wife’s cooking with one of his comments, ” I believe you followed the recipe. You just never caught up to it. ” We each have our own idea of what it means to follow. And at certain times, there’s a significance to how closely something is followed. Sometimes getting the gist is acceptable, while other times require precise adherence to what should be followed. And even when we’re following, each of us has our own way. Some need to know the end result or final destination before they begin, while others can take it a step at a time.
Application
But following Jesus is unlike any other endeavor or journey. And to do it as we should, to be faithful to the calling, we would do well to regularly examine what we call following Him. Routines are good and helpful, but they may not have the heart of following Jesus. Participating in this or avoiding that are both desirable, but they cannot replace genuine pursuit of our Savior. And failures and setbacks should constrain us to evaluate and review what we consider to be following. We may discover that it means a little more than what we thought it meant.
Charge
As we seek Him today, follow Jesus with all your heart, and make sure the rest of you does, too.
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Author – Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org
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