Growing up, I had a pesky little sister four years my junior. She seemed to follow me everywhere. If I wanted to go for a walk to get away from her or ride my bike, suddenly, she wanted to do the same thing.

It was annoying to have someone following me everywhere. Trying to lose her was sometimes fun, though!

It is ironic that nowadays, everyone seems to want others to follow them. We see this daily in our social media news feed. Follow me on Instagram. Follow me on Twitter. Follow my blog. Follow me … follow me … follow me. Everybody wants a following.

Does it cost us anything to follow someone on social media? Not really.

Eventually, we may see too many posts or emails from them. It might start to get on our nerves. Then we simply "unfollow" the friend or the page or the blog and move on with our lives. Nothing lost. Nothing gained.

All this following got me to thinking about Jesus, though.

Mark 1:16-18 – As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. (NIV)

When He asked His disciples to follow Him, they dropped whatever they were doing and followed. They left their jobs. They left their families. It cost them a great deal to follow Jesus. But what they gained was priceless. He is the one Person that everyone should be following.

So, if we follow Jesus as Christians today, will our lives suddenly become perfect? No, it can still cost much to follow Jesus. We may lose friends when we choose not to participate in certain activities. Sadly, becoming a Christian could cause family issues, because of our new convictions.

But His gifts of forgiveness and a relationship with God make it all worthwhile. He has our best interests at heart every moment of our lives. After that, the benefits are out of this world! How wonderful it is to know Him and to trust Him!

As for my little sister, I wish that there were a way to go back in time and enjoy those early years with her again. I'd handle it a bit differently and ask her to follow me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus. Help us to follow Him more than anything else in our lives. Help us yield ourselves to His lead in our lives, wherever that may take us. In the powerful, mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Melinda Eye Cooper <melindaeyecooperwrites@gmail.com>
Cottontown, Tennessee, USA
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