Tuesday, July 19, 2016

You Can't Follow Jesus Standing Still

 Jesus said, "get up for your faith has healed you". Getting up is a physical response. Jesus said, "come, cast down your nets and follow me." Again, this is a physical response. The response wasn't sitting in listening to Jesus. The response or responsibility of those listening was the physical response to what Jesus had said or done.

 Our response to Jesus cannot just be a mental response. We, as followers of Christ, cannot merely sit, listen to Jesus' message, and leave and until the next message. Changes to myself and those around me don't occur without the physical response to what I hear. Hearing alone doesn't change anything.

 Remember the game follow the leader, and how often kids play this game. It doesn't work if the non-leader only listens and/or watches. There has to be a response. Lastly, when I was younger and even in my adult life, I can hear my parents and even coaches say, "Did you hear anything I said?" Often, my response was or is, "yes, I heard everything you said!" However, if I don't physically respond or act, there is no way of knowing I have heard.

I want to be so connected to Jesus, it's as if I'm walking side-by-side, hand-in-hand, or like a child I'm grasping his leg/clothes, trying to not get far away.  Much like LiLu, in the picture below, I want to hang tight to Jesus.