Do You Follow From A Distance?

May 16

Many people follow Christ from a distance. Yes, something attracts them to the Man who is unlike any other, but they don’t want to get too close to Him—perhaps for fear that He will require more of them than they desire to give. They are much like the rich young ruler of Luke 18: 18-23.

When Jesus told him to sell all he had and distribute it to the poor and follow Him, he turned away—sadly—for he knew Jesus was worth following, yet felt He was not worth impoverishing himself for. Are we afraid Jesus will require too much of us if we decide to follow Him? Do we value the things of earth more than we value having a relationship with the Lord of Eternity?

The reality is that He may not require our financial resources of us. Perhaps He will ask us to relinquish a habit (alcohol, for example), or a relationship (maybe an extramarital affair), or a mindset (self-sufficiency) in order to be His modern-day disciple. And perhaps we, like the rich young ruler, value it too much to give it up. Some of us may delude ourselves to thinking we are followers of Jesus without giving up the thing to which we cling.

We go through the motions of faith in Him without complying with His requirements. Yet His Word to us is clearly, “If you hold to My teaching, you are truly My disciples,” John 8:31. How closely do we hold His teaching? For, indeed, a measure of our devotion to Him is the degree to which His Word is important to us. It is not merely a book among others on the coffee table but it is the blueprint for our lives. If we hold His teaching with a firm grip, we will also hold tightly to Him.