The Life of Power to Follow

Oswald Cambers, MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST: 1/05/09
http://www.myutmost.org/ (Select Jan. 5)
"Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.' " (John 13:36).

Chambers helps us to understand that just being in love with Jesus, with an external following is not His ultimate goal for us. Yes, He wants us to know how much He loves us and to love Him back. Yes, He wants us to know how much happier we will be when we are able to practice that which he preaches, i.e. to love others as He has loved us. But all of that is not enough. Peter thought it was enough. He was very pious and proud of the depth of his love for Jesus. Later, however in the 21st chapter of John, after the resurrection, when Jesus has reappeared for the third time, Peter finally gets it. It took Jesus three times of asking Peter if he really loved Him in order to comprehend what really loving Him meant. In order for Peter, (and us) to be able to actually follow Jesus and to feed His sheep, it requires a willingness to die to self, and ultimately a willingness to actually give up one's life. Peter did that. He was finally ready, but he was only able to do this after Jesus had empowered him with the Holy Spirit.

Paul gave up the right to his self-righteous Jewish life soon after Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Some are able to make this ultimate committment faster than others. When it becomes critical to our very lives (AA) or the lives of those we love (cancer), we waste little time settling for just being an external followerer, like sheep following our precious Shepherd. When we are willing to let him take over and do the feeding of other sheep through us, then He knows we really love Him. For some of us who are born into the church, into the family of God, grow up loving Jesus. This is a wonderful thing, but it is not enough. If we really love Him and are willing to feed His sheep, we must be empowered by Him. We have to empty our cup of self to allow the Christ child to enter into our souls. As we reflect on the infant birth of the Baby Jesus, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will grow us up to the point that we can live a life of filled with the Spirit'spower that enables us to truly follow Him.