Are you a Believer or a Follower?

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.” John 8:12 (NIV)

I used to wonder how I was able to stray so far from the Lord and walk in darkness when I was a Christian. I struggled with the bondage of sin, and it just seemed like I was always coming back to Him for forgiveness. How did I keep getting off track? I loved God, I believed in Him, I even served at church. Why couldn't I just keep walking with Him and not struggle so much? 

The answer is in this verse, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

I believe there is a big difference between believing and following. You can believe that Jesus saves and you can even serve at church every sunday, but if you aren't actually following  Christ daily, then you may always struggle with living in sin. 

Believing is one thing. And believing is a good thing! It's the first step to a relationship with Christ. But just like any relationship, it has to move to the next level if you want it to go deeper. Believe me, with Christ you want to go deeper. 

So how do we do this? How do we go from just believing in Jesus to full-on following Him? Maybe we should look at how His first followers did it in the first century! The four gospels are a great place to start: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Commit to reading at least 1 chapter a day and you will begin to see.

His followers left their comfort zones, their expected path, their chosen professions. Fishermen, tax collectors, and even a prostitute. They dropped everything to follow Christ. Does that mean we need to do that too? Possibly! If He tells you to then yes. But don't let that scare you, His plan is perfect and better than you could ever imagine. Keep reading.

After that initial step of faith and turning from sin, they listened to Him teach. (Which we can do by reading the Bible) They walked with Him wherever He went. They believed what He said was true. Then they started applying what they learned. They began healing others in Jesus' name. They had front row seats to His many miracles and wonders. 

After He ascended into Heaven, they received the Holy Spirit and they followed the command to go and make disciples. Wow. Now that's a follower. Would you agree with me  that believing is one thing and following is another? Even demons believe Jesus is real. James 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (NIV)

I think when you are just believing and not following, it is easier to get distracted by the desires and temptations of this world. Christ is the light of the world. If you want to reflect that light then you have to be looking at Him. 

I want to encourage you today to take that next step from believer to follower if you haven't already. God has so much more planned for you, and one of those things is freedom from the bondage of sin. As soon as I went from just believing to actually following, those chains were broken. I was no longer a slave to my old ways. Being in His word everyday changed me. It brought me from a believer to a follower because reading His word is like listening to His voice. Listen as the Holy Spirit teaches you what His words mean. Ask Him to give you "ah-ha" moments from your daily reading. Write them down in your journal so you never forget them. Years later they can still be teachable moments for you. Next, tell someone! Share what the Lord has shown you. You never know who needs to hear from the Lord that day, and you could be the one He uses to do it.

Let's read Jesus' words one more time, 
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

There is a way to never walk in darkness again, and that's to follow Him.

You ready?