People are so quick to dismiss Christianity without even knowing anything about it. It doesn’t make sense to say no to something without even asking some intelligent questions.
The problem with people is that they are satisfied with so little. If they would only have a hunger for more?
There are so many reasons to follow Jesus. Let’s have a look at some of them.
In the most simple terms, it’s to live a good, honest life under the care and guidance of our loving Father in Heaven.
It is not a set of rules to make you miserable but to bring order to your life. Everything God does is to make our life better, but here’s where the problems start, God’s version of a better life is a lot different than ours.
So, first, we need to be changed. God transforms us through our thinking. When we listen and obey the teachings of Jesus we will learn how to live a godly life, we will learn the difference between right and wrong, good and evil.
I think this is important, don’t you?
Another reason to follow Jesus is to heal and grow into a mature person who knows how to love.
Following Jesus gives meaning to our lives, it gives us peace, and the ability to overcome temptation that ultimately destroys our lives.
And of course to give glory to God. He is Our Lord, Saviour, and Creator of the Universe and every living thing in it.
Why would we not want to be connected to a force so powerful and loving?
It is wise to follow God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
What do we need to heal?
Our emotions
Our bodies
Our minds
Our spirit
Then we need to heal our relationship with ourselves, God, and others. When we have sin in our lives, it hinders our ability to love correctly.
What happens when we do not follow Jesus?
When we do not follow Jesus we remain in our brokenness. Our brokenness will manifest in many ways. For example, without healing we may:
Lie, cheat, manipulate, over-control, deny our problems, be aggressive, bitter, judge, abuse, over-please, hate, be negative, criticize, be over-responsible, blame, worry, etc.
They are just some of the behaviors of an unhealed person.
This brokenness can show up outwardly, such as:
Financial problems
Relationship Problems
Addictions
The way of the cross is death of the old self
“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
—Mark 8: 34-38
How do we heal and grow?
We heal by repenting for our old life and asking God to heal and transform us. Praying for guidance and then following God’s instructions. Study the Bible and do what it says.
Bible verses mentioned in the podcast:
Matthew 4:19 - become fishers of men
Revelation 3:14-22 - for the lukewarm
Romans 12:2 - be transformed
Galatians 5:22-23 - the fruit of the spirit
Thank you for reading and listening!
Image by Vaishakh Pillai on Unsplash
Podcast: Jesus said, "Come Follow Me!"