Page 019 - Can You Follow the Lord Now?
*Verses from AMP
"Peter said to Him, Lord, why cannot I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You. Jesus answered, Will you [really] lay down your life for Me? I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me [completely disown Me] three times" (Amp: John 13:37-38).
When our heart first turns to the Lord, our first desire is to follow Him. As We plunge in, we do not give much thought as to what this means. Of course, the Lord is glad to accept our love and devotion to Him and He pours Himself into us as much as we are willing to take. In a sense this is just like a honeymoon where everything is pleasant and wonderful.
Soon we begin to understand, however, that the Lord requires something more of us. He delights in our reading and musing over His holy Word daily. He wants us not only to love Him, but a bunch of strangers who are our Christian brothers and sisters, regardless of whether they have problems or not. He would like, when we have opportunity, to speak the gospel to others even if they are nasty or mistreat us. Then He wants us to take care of them as our ownchildren. He even requests that we tithe 10% of the money we receive and possibly more if there are special offerings needed. Last, but not least, everyone should offer up their bodies as a living sacrifice to serve Him and the church (Romans 12:1) This not only requires extra time, but use of our skills and talents.
Although some may be willing to go this far, there still is a place they cannot go. Peter did not realize that he was incapable of facing life-threatening opposition until he confronted it. Others may have to face family loss, disease, a catastrophic accident or financial hardship. Like Peter, we must all come to see ourselves as we truly are. We will not be able to follow the Lord completley until we do. The Apostle Paul had to learn these lessons as well which he told us about in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 4:16-18.