by Beth Fore
Jesus answered, “If you want
to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come,
follow me.”
(Matthew 19:21 NIV)
Dust on My Shoes
I want to follow in Your footsteps, Jesus,
and let the wind blow Your dust on my shoes.
I want to willingly give all of myself to You
and, for Your sake, my life I will lose.
I want everyone to look at me and see
Your kindness and compassion on my face.
I want people to know that You are my Savior,
and I am the undeserving recipient of Your grace.
I want to be a light in a world of darkness
that shines brightly for the whole world to see,
that You are the life and the light in this world,
and You reign over all with divine sovereignty.
I want to be a servant to You, Jesus, and to others,
and spend my time and energy serving You and them.
I want to live a life of love and obedience
that exemplifies my faithfulness to You and to Him.
I want to be fearless, bold, and adventurous
and be willing to follow You anywhere.
I want to be submissive and wholly convinced
that wherever I go, You will be there.
I want to follow in Your footsteps, Jesus,
and let the wind blow Your dust on my shoes.
I want to willingly give all of myself to You
and, for Your sake, my life I will lose.
written by Anna Beth Fore
*Those who want to follow Jesus, and be perfect, must be willing to give up everything for Him, including their physical goods and possessions.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1 NIV)
As human beings, we live in a fallen world; and the measure of happiness and success in this world is money and possessions. The more you have, the more successful and admired you will be by most people in the world. So, for the people who value happiness, success, and admiration in this world, it sounds foolish and ridiculous to give up everything you own, and have worked for in life, to follow a religious leader.
Only a human being whose heart, mind, and soul has been transformed by the Holy Spirit of God can possibly choose to give up everything for Jesus Christ. A person can choose to sacrifice his body as a living sacrifice to God because he understands the gift of salvation that has been given to him. The pure, holy, and perfect sacrifice that has been made for him through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ covers all of the sins of mankind—past, present, and future.
The follower of Christ is a person who seeks the will of God, and not his own will. He is not proud, selfish, or greedy; but, rather, he is humble, benevolent, and generous. He believes and obeys God’s first two commandments: “He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27 NIV)
*The true follower of Christ wants to be like Christ, to live like Christ, to reflect Christ, and to be willing to give his life for Christ.
“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’” (Luke 9:23-24 NIV)
A true follower of Christ gives himself up in order to become a reflection of Jesus Christ. He wants to shine light into a dark, sinful world. When people look at his goodness and mercy, he wants them to know that all that he is results from the glory of God who has changed him into His likeness.
He wants other people to see him as a willing servant who cares about them and desires to help them, and he wants to share the love and grace of Jesus with them. He wants to be fearless, bold, and adventurous for the sake of Jesus, so that others will be attracted to Him and want to follow Him.
The true follower wants others to see him as being totally submissive to God in every way, completely dependent on Him for his every need. He is even willing to give up his life for the sake of Christ. The true follower desires that the dust from Jesus’ feet will blow on his shoes.
APPLICATIONS
- Write down all of the reasons you can honestly think of that prevent you from being willing to give up everything for Christ.
- Choose one of these reasons each day and pray that God will remove this fear from you and give you the faith you need to overcome these fears.
- Write down several of your prized possessions. How can you give these items away (or sell them and give the money away) in a manner that will give God the glory and praise?
- Write a prayer that will ask God to give you the wisdom, strength, and determination to help you become a more submissive servant to His will in your life. Then pray this prayer every day for a week, a month, etc., and see how it changes your life.
- If all of this seems too difficult, begin by thinking of one kind, generous thing you can do for someone else each day. Evaluate how this changes your heart, and then do even more.
If you want to learn more about how to become a Christian, click this link: https://wowwnlbi.wordpress.com/what-it-means-to-follow-jesus-how-to-become-a-christian/
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