Follow Me

Luke 9:23-24 NLT

Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."

Imagine being a young boy and wanting to be a baseball player when you grew up. This was not unusual for boys in my time. And it was not about money because ball players did not get paid a lot of money back then. Today most desires seems to be centered on making lots of money instead of on the actual vocation.

Back to the baseball dream. To become a player good enough to make the big leagues there were some things that would have to happen. First came the decision to put everything aside and work toward the goal. Then you had to do it. You had to play baseball every opportunity you got and more. You read about the game and followed the teams. You practiced and then practiced more. 

School work and chores still got done because that was part of life, but the game was always on your mind. You no longer hung around with those friend with no interest in baseball. All your friends now talked all the time about the game. The game was your passion.

How similar our walk with Jesus. Saying yes to becoming a follower is not just a simple decision like do you want a piece of cake or a donut. If that is all you did then you are not in the game.

When we become born again everything changes, but not right away. He comes to dwell in us. Our spirit man becomes one with Jesus. Our soul man is still unrenewed, still very worldly. With Holy Spirit's help and our desires to be more and more like Jesus we are transformed into the image and likeness of Christ. And it takes our lifetime to get there.

It is our dying to self, our unrenewed self that we grow. The more we try to hang on to those old ways, those old friends, those old habits, those old TV shows, those old movies, those old things that are of no help to us in our transformation, the longer it takes for our mind to be renewed.