"If anyone will be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."
The last choice in the call to faithful discipleship is "follow Me." The truth we must consider in following Him is "where are we going?" John puts it this way, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure." Following Him leads to a face-to-face encounter--embrace--with our Savior. And that hope is to be a transforming miracle in our daily walk. To follow Him is to become more like Him day by day. To become more like Him day by day involves us in the process of purification. That is not an easy road. It requires trials by fire to consume the dross that is ourselves and to replace us with the beauty that is found in Him. It requires a life on our knees praying that His will be done in all things--in every situation. It accepts that the world can never know us, understand us and the choices that we make by faith to please Him. It brings the loving discipline of the Father that often does not seem pleasant in the present tense of our experience.
And yet, it is a life of fullness--the abundant life. The discipline "yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness." The discipline empowers us to "share in His holiness." Daily we drink the still waters and rest in His green meadows. His presence is with us always--even as we walk through the deepest shadows of the darkest valleys. The faithful rod is always accompanied by the staff of strength for us to lean on. Both are our comfort. The rod reassures us that He loves us, that we are His children, that He is transforming us into His likeness. The staff assures us that we can do all things through the One who is our strength and who never leads us to a place where He has not gone before and emerged victorious--more than Conqueror.
And when the journey ends, when the disciple finds himself standing next to His Savior in the presence of the Father, transformed at last into His image, the hope reality, only one thought will fill the disciple's heart and mind, "The Lamb is all the glory in Emmanuel's Land."
And yet, it is a life of fullness--the abundant life. The discipline "yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness." The discipline empowers us to "share in His holiness." Daily we drink the still waters and rest in His green meadows. His presence is with us always--even as we walk through the deepest shadows of the darkest valleys. The faithful rod is always accompanied by the staff of strength for us to lean on. Both are our comfort. The rod reassures us that He loves us, that we are His children, that He is transforming us into His likeness. The staff assures us that we can do all things through the One who is our strength and who never leads us to a place where He has not gone before and emerged victorious--more than Conqueror.
And when the journey ends, when the disciple finds himself standing next to His Savior in the presence of the Father, transformed at last into His image, the hope reality, only one thought will fill the disciple's heart and mind, "The Lamb is all the glory in Emmanuel's Land."
"Follow, I will follow Thee, my Lord; follow every passing day. My tomorrows are all known to Thee; Thou wilt lead me all the way."
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