As the girls were going upstairs this morning, I heard Lillyann telling Mylah, “That’s right little unicorn; follow the leader.” Lillyann was, of course, the leader. God used the girls to remind me that I wasn’t truly following Jesus, only inviting Him to come along with me. I have the tendency to imagine Jesus right behind me and try to behave accordingly. It’s exactly what Lillyann loves for all of us to do:) I am thankful God has a sense of humor and loves me even more than I love Lillyann. He patiently allows me to show Him all I’m doing and learning. I am eternally grateful that He smiles, encourages, and waits for me to truly understand what following entails. If I am to walk in His kingdom, I have to decide to truly follow Jesus instead of asking Him to join me on my journey.
I take Jesus with me wherever I go, and I thought I was doing the right thing. My intentions have been very good, but the path was not leading to God’s kingdom just improving my path. Good intentions still pave the road to a very different place, and I had a very sobering reminder of that from God’s Word this morning.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NASB
I was humbled by those powerful words and the ones which follow in verses 21-23.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you” NASB
Following Jesus isn’t easy, and I pray I will remember that as I step aside and allow Jesus to lead the way. I listen and obey to the point of seeing the direction, and then I take off like Forrest Gump. It’s only when I find myself past the end zone that I turn around and remember that Jesus should be the one out in front. Again, I’m thankful for His patience and His grace. His love goes without saying because if it weren’t for it, I would be completely lost and alone.
Following the leader was never my favorite game when the kids in my neighborhood got together. I was one of the younger ones, so I wasn’t the leader often. When I was, I was too busy wondering what those behind me were doing to do a good job of leading. Following Jesus is much more difficult than simply inviting Him to walk along. He made that clear to me this week. I have to choose whether or not to hang on to my wants or let go and let Him worry about my needs. I allowed our paths to go in different directions once before in my life, and I do not want to ever be without Him again.
Holiness simply means mature, ripe, and ready. I am closer to understanding just what that means after the vivid lessons He had for me this week. Lillyann’s sweet order to Mylah was a call for me, as well. Jesus is also saying to me, “That’s right! Now, follow the leader,” and His voice is just as sweet and reassuring as Lillyann’s was this morning as she bid little Mylah to do the same:)
journeywithgigi 