By Pst. James Kimathi
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:118-20, NIV).
Following Jesus is a lifelong journey that we undertake. To start that journey, a few things are required from us.
The first is that we must recognize that God calls us to follow him in our contexts. Peter, Andrew and the sons of Zebedee were out fishing when Jesus called him. Matthew was called from his profession as a tax collector and Nathaniel received the call while he was sitting under a tree.
Similarly, God can call anyone from anywhere, whether they are presidents, ambassadors, farmers, etc.
The second thing is that God expects an immediate response when he calls us.
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matt. 8: 21-22, NIV).
Jesus’ response to the disciple denotes the urgency of the matter. There was no time to waste. The disciples understood this and left everything to follow Jesus immediately they met him.
You must realize that Jesus is calling you from a season of wastage to accuracy of purpose and mandate. The more you delay the more you remain lost. If you keep living your life without following Christ, you will never know your purpose.
A third thing to know for you to follow Christ is that it requires self denial and sacrifice. There can be no discipleship without sacrifice.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Lk. 18: 22, NIV).
Fortunately, everything you lose because of your decision to follow Christ is a seed sowed and in due time, you will receive the full recompense.
Closely related to self denial and sacrifice is that you must count the cost before deciding to follow Jesus. This way when it is demanded of you to pay the price, you will not backslide.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ (Lk. 14: 28, NIV).
Finally, the call to follow Jesus demands that you prioritise him over everything else.
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
If you are to follow Christ, you must count him more worthy than everything else.
