I will follow you, Jesus, BUT...

Where are you today as far as surrender to God is concerned? Have you given all to Him? There is a foolproof way to know the answer to that question. Look into the depths of your being and see what you find there. If there is peace and hope and joy and quiet confidence, then you have surrendered everything to Him. If there is fear or confusion or disappointment or disillusionment, you still hold on to the central position in your life - you still want what YOU want!

'Follow Me.' The invitation is personal. The call is genuine. The time is short. The matter is urgent.

l want to tell you of an experience that Henri Nouwen wrote about. He took his 88 year old father to the circus. Nouwen was thrilled by the performance of a family of trapeze artists. At the intermission, Nouwen went over to talk with them. Out of that simple beginning, it was decided that Nouwen would spend his upcoming vacation traveling with them.

One evening, Nouwen sat talking with the head of the family. This man said, 'Henri, I can do triple somersaults, and I get all of the applause. However, I am not the hero of our act. The hero is our catcher. One of the greatest mistakes I can make is to reach for him. If I try to grab for him, we could easily break one another's wrists. I must just do my triple and then close my eyes and go down, holding my arms out and trusting that I will be caught by the catcher.'

Nouwen later wrote that we all have to do many 'triples' every day, but we are not the heroes. God is the hero. He is our catcher. We surrender to Him when we reach out our arms and trust Him to catch us. We can pray as Jesus did on the cross: 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit," (Luke 23:46) This is the joy and freedom of the surrendered Christian Life. This is the wonder of following Jesus!"

He places a claim on human life that is supreme He calls us to follow Him with our whole hearts. Following Him will bring us to the highest purpose for our lives. This is one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life, for it will lead to a glorious realization of God's best, and He waits for our answer.

Are you following Him every hour of every day? If not, why not? I will follow You, Jesus, BUT... What is the 'but' for you? Against what comes after that 'but', you must fling all the force of your will and all of your resolve. It is OUR will and OUR choice whether or not to follow. In his strength may we gladly say, 'I will follow You, Lord. Wherever You lead me, I will follow."

Then what? Then, His own dear name will be glorified. My life shall be fully and completely realized, and I will live out my days at His disposal for helpfulness and love to others, as I share with them the Kingdom of God.