Follow

By Paul Chappell

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Matthew 16:24-26

I once read the story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."

There are times for all of us to lead in various roles and ways in our lives, but sometimes we become so focused on leadership that we forget our first responsibility is to be followers of Jesus Christ. The first command that He gave to His disciples was to follow Him, and the same is true for us. There is no way to be a successful, victorious Christian without first walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

Often we hear people ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” While that is a good question to help us order our actions, His life was not the only example for us—we also find a pattern of behavior in His death. "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus died for others, and as we follow Him, what we do should also be for others.

Today's Rooted Principle:

Above all else, resolve today to follow Jesus and do His will.