“…follow me!” John
21:22b
“To be a dutiful under-shepherd is another view, to be a
faithful sheep, following the Chief Shepherd whithersoever He goes. Pastors are
not lords over God heritage, but mere servants of Christ, the great Head of the
Church, bound to regard His will as their law, and His life as their model. In
the scene by the lake Jesus took pains to make His disciples understand this.
He did not allow them to suppose that in committing to their pastoral charge His
flock, He was abdicating His position as Shepherd and Bishop of souls. Having
said to Peter, ‘Feed my lambs,’ ‘Feed my sheep,’ He said to him, as His final
word, ‘Follow me.’” The Training of the Twelve, A. B. Bruce, pp. 524.
Twice in verse 19 and 22, Jesus uses the simple phrase, “Follow
me!” I don’t know about you, but when I see the Master mention the same phrase
twice in a few words, there must be something to it. As Bruce mentions, Jesus
was not going to abdicate the entirety of the gospel to the disciples. He was
the only way for men to be saved, and leaving that to the disciples was quite
impossible. Surely they knew this though. He was simply leaving the model of
the gospel to each of them and charging them with the care of it. The model was
basing all they did and said upon the life He taught them to live. This means
for today, we as Disciples of Christ are supposed to follow the life He left us
as an example; and then follow it as closely as we can each day.
This however is not true in the real world today. How do I know?
The last figure I heard this last week is that 53,000 Christians are leaving
the church each month; each month? Today the world is filled with halfhearted and
misdirected Christians who have somehow changed their minds the concept of what
they believe the gospel means. Since the day of their salvation, many
have wandered from the faith; the model
set for each in-Christ. Then, others have decided to cherry pick and choose
what they will live by or cast aside what they deem no longer valid of
Scripture. When it comes to passages which address our actions and how to
behave, many choose to say, “That was in a different era, it doesn’t apply
today!” You see, their life is driven by culture around them. Whatever culture
tells them is important, is what they follow. There is no permanent standard of truth in their life. Our
Bible is our standard of truth! It is
not outdated! It is not a dead document! It is the living, breathing Word of
God! The problem is some are driven by the winds of time. The Word of God is
our rock which we can stand upon. Consider the words of Paul as he tells us about the
stability the Word of God and what it brings into our lives; “As a result, we are no longer
to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind
of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph.
4:14).
On Sunday nights, there is one phrase I remember vividly
from Dr. Elmer Towns REL 102 class we are taking as a church body. He says this;
“Methods are many, Principals are few;
methods change but Principles never do.” You see, the principles are the
Word of God. Those things do not and will not change. Methods are many, refers
to the ways the gospel can be shared in integrated into our lives. But when the
two clash against each other, which one do you trust? We must always side with
the principles of the Word of God!
We are not the masters of our life. Those who know Jesus
Christ as their Savior know better. He is our Master and Savior. We are only to
model our lives after His. His is the
solid principle for our lives and it
is up to us to live our lives in a way that honors His life! Jesus said “Follow
me.” Will you choose this day to follow Him?
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