Follow Me Boys!
The title of this article is also the title of a 1966 Disney film in which Fred McMurray sets out to impress a young lady in the town where he had recently settled. He becomes a Boy Scout troop leader and then got caught up in the usual antics that accompany many a Disney movie of that era. The point of the movie is that folks look up to somebody and it is important to whom we look.
Many people seek folks to help guide them in careers, education, and in many various endeavors. There are those who have sought out “mentors”; those whom they look up to, for advice and instruction to achieve a particular goal.
Many a Christian has had the benefit of a mentor as they began their walk in the Christian life. This is the idea conveyed in 1Corinthians 4:15-16 in which the Spirit had Paul encourage the brethren there to “follow him”. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. This was not only because Paul had ”begotten” them through teaching and bringing them to an understanding of the truth. It was also because Paul would set a proper example before them. This was because Paul followed Christ. This is what the Spirit had Paul tell them in 1Corinthians 11:1. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. This is what makes the difference.
We must also understand that following Christ means to follow God. In the letter to the Ephesians, The Spirit had Paul instruct them to do so because they were children of God. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Ephesians 5:1. One cannot follow Jehovah without following Christ and vice-versa. This is because Jehovah, Christ and the Spirit are God. 1John 5:7 informs us: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
This brings up what I think is an excellent point. To follow God and to follow Christ is to follow the Spirit. The Thessalonian brethren were warned to not cease to follow the Spirit in 1Thessalonians 5:19 when they were told to: Quench not the Spirit. Unfortunately, many Christians do exactly that, when they fail to heed what the Spirit has delivered to us in the Bible, the Word of God. Perhaps this is what was being said in Galatians 5:5. How else would we know of the hope of eternal life without the Word of God? For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Christ always followed His Father’s Will. He told this to His disciples when He told them how to show their love for Him in John 15:10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. Then in 1Peter 2:21 we read that the Lord is our perfect example. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
The question then becomes: Who is it you follow? That is the question we must ask ourselves as we continue through this life. Jesus, in Luke 16:13 said:
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The Christians to whom the Spirit had John write in his 3rd epistle were warned about this very thing. These people were asked to consider their choice in 3John vs 11. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. This warning is indeed very necessary as 2Peter 2:2 tells us that many make choice to follow the wrong things and do themselves and the church harm. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
There are many other passages that convey the same idea without using the word follow. One such passage is Roman 6:16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Then as we read verses 17-18 we see that the Roman brethren had made the right choice and had chosen to follow the truth and be obedient to it. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Do we ever stop and consider who, or what it is that we follow? It is possible that we may try to deceive ourselves or others by saying the right things when this question comes up. The evidence of who or what we follow is in what we do. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 7:20 as He neared the end of the Sermon on the Mount. He said: Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Now, what fruits are there in our lives that speak clearly to show we are following the Lord and His Word? To whom have we “yielded” ourselves servants to obey? Are we obedient to God, or are we following and serving sin? This is something we all should think about.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
