Do you consider yourself a follower of Christ? I’m not asking if you believe in him. No, I’m asking whether you follow him, because there is a difference. By following him we make every effort to be like him - to take on his characteristics. We try to act like him, talk like him, pray like him and love like him. I don’t mean to imply that we are to try to be him, but we should want to aspire to be like him and to follow his words and commandments - kind of like his disciples did. And he tells us that if we truly follow him that we will have the light of life. It says in John chapter 8 verse 12:
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'”
I encourage you to think through what it really means to follow Christ. His disciples were his followers. They listened to what he said and tried to be molded into that likeness. The good news is that we don’t have to do this on our own. The Holy Spirit is there to help us with the renewing of our minds. When we accept Jesus, we are automatically a new creation - we are “born again”. But to follow Christ is a daily effort. He says that we need to take up our cross daily and follow him. And if we do, we will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
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Jesus tells us that he is the light of the world. He says that if we follow him we will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. I don’t know about you, but that sounds good to me! I know I don’t want to walk in darkness. And if you don’t either, you need to follow Christ. Like his disciples, we need to hear what he says and obey. He gave us the bible to read, the ability to speak to him through prayer, and he left us the Holy Spirit which lives inside of every believer. We have the means to follow him. I encourage you to make every effort to be a follower of Christ because if you do, you will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.