What Does It Mean to Be a Follower of Jesus?

Being a follower of Christ means so much more than saying you want Him to come into your life, being baptized, and attending church. It requires that you turn your life over to God and allow Him to change you. You have to become a new creature in Christ. I like how David Platt puts it in his book, What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me?

When we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with our old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. As Christ begins to live in us, everything begins to change about us. Our minds change. For the first time, we realize who God is, what Jesus has done, and how much we need him. Our desires change. The things of this earth that we once loved we now hate, and the things of God that we once hated we now love. Our wills change. We go wherever Jesus commands, and we sacrifice whatever it costs to spend our lives in uncompromising obedience to his Word. Our relationships change. We lay our lives down in love for one another in the church as together we spread the gospel to the world. Ultimately, our reason for living changes. Professions and position are no longer our concern. Safety is no longer our goal because self is no longer our god. We now want God’s glory more than we want our own lives. The more we glorify him, the more we enjoy him, the more we realize that this is what it biblically means to be a Christian.

Whatever we give up to follow Christ becomes insignificant beside what we gain. Again, Platt writes:

Yes, there is a cost that accompanies following Jesus Christ, but it is worth it. More aptly put, he is worth it. Jesus is worthy of far more than intellectual belief, and there is so much more to following him than monotonous spirituality. There is indescribable joy to be found, deep satisfaction to be felt, and an eternal purpose to be fulfilled in dying to ourselves and living for him.

What about you? How much have you seen your lifestyle change after becoming a Christian? How closely are you following Christ?

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