This year has broadened my perception of how to approach things. I have really seemed to grasp much deeper that despite everything going on, time does not stop, but it seems to just go by even faster.
These thoughts and memories remind me when I coached our town’s Rookie ball league. Now, as joyful as coaching is, there are those moments where I just sit back and laugh. I often think that teaching the kids how to hit the ball or catch it will be the most challenging task, but to my amazement, many times, it is how to run to the correct bases. Once the ball is hit, many of the kids are just unsure where to run; in fact, I told one player run home and he ran to center field, took his shirt off to never return again. So, I said okay to each player run to first, then second, third, and home. Even then, the kids were getting confused; they would hit the ball, I would say run to first, but somehow, 3rd base often looked like 1st. In deep thought, let’s try this, stay close and follow me as we go around. It became much more straightforward; as the players hit the ball, it was much easier for them to see where to go and, when unsure, to listen to where to go as they knew my voice over the others. As we continue, the players can now listen and follow.
A simple coaching lesson has reminded me how easy it is to get lost trying to do the most basic tasks. There is an analogy I read, life is like a cargo ship; it is massive, packed with value, and more powerful things than we could ever imagine it being, and much like a ship without a rudder, a life without the gospel will be sure to careen out of control (Ryan Federick).
When coming to a surrendering of Christ, it has been a profound revelation that it was not so much just an acceptance of Christ but a decision I made to follow Him. I have come to a deeper understanding that accepting Christ’s invitation to salvation comes with being not only obedient to his calling but requires action to follow Him.
The following scriptures help reinforce where Jesus shows the importance of following Him:
- Matthew 16:24 ESV Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
- Matthew 4:19 ESV And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
- Matthew 9:9 ESV As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
- Matthew 19:21 ESV Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
- Matthew 10:38 ESV And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
- John 10:27 ESV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Matthew 8:22 ESV And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
- Luke 9:23 ESV And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me
- John 8:12 ESV Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John Piper says it like this “The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.”
I often present it like this, imagine you went into the doctor’s office and were informed that you have a defective heart and needed a heart transplant but could be put at the top of the donor’s list would you accept that? I could only imagine the general response of people would be yes. Praise God because there is a precise surgeon named Jesus on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, ready to do your surgery because getting into the Gospel will give you that exact diagnosis. A book by William Fay I read in graduate school said it like this, you are either one of two people; you either talk about lost people or talk to lost people. The Gospel is and has continued to be the center point of my walk, where I constantly recalibrate myself. As William Fay said it best and often left me wondering, am I part of the Christian aquarium stuck inside the four walls of the church, or am I following Christ and becoming a fisher of men?
With time elapsing ever so fast, the good news of the Gospel, along with the importance of following Christ, can make all the difference. It is so easy to be like that player running into center field to never be seen again. Whatever direction someone’s life goes in can forever be impacted by a decision on who or what they choose to follow; however, following Christ can never be made if He is never talked about fearlessly.
So, I ask are you part of the Christian aquarium or a fisher of men?
Frank D.