For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 1 Peter 2:21
Following in someone’s steps is not uncommon. Many first steps are the result of following others. Quite often, toddlers become walkers by following older children around and it doesn’t end with those first steps. They are watching every step, every move and seeking to be like those older children they are learning from.
Children will learn a lot by following other children, but eventually they begin to learn from the adults in their life, as God intended. It is, however not just a matter of adults teaching children the things they need to learn, for children will learn more by actions than by words. God created us to be followers of Jesus, so it is natural that we get more out of actions than we do words. A child can spot someone who is all talk and no walk easily, for what they hear from someone can never override what they see in them.
Many people have grown up disappointed or even disillusioned by hearing one thing and seeing something else in those they were being led by. That need to have someone to follow is not something we outgrow but rather that we grow into as a child of God. We learn to follow Jesus and to only follow others as they follow Christ.
The Bible is literally filled with God’s words for us to live by and we are to live by them; every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We have the Law and then the Law boiled down to ten commandments and then those ten rolled up into one: to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and mind and strength. Then, there is the second commandment that relates to the practical application of the first — love others as you love yourself.
Those are two very straightforward commands, but how can you apply them to your daily life? How can you know how to live your life by the greatest of all commandments and its counterpart? Basically, the way you learned when you were born is the way you learn since you were born again. You need some steps to follow. You need someone to lead the way, not just tell you which way to go.
Jesus came to the earth as a man and He suffered much before finishing the Father’s will for Him here. He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. He could have just stayed in heaven and never been subjected to the challenges of growing up in humble circumstances, beginning with spending His first night in a cattle stall. He would end His earthly life suffering the indignities of being crucified. Yet, through all that He suffered, He never chose the easy way but rather the right way. The way of His Father.
As a Christian, you always have a clear path to follow. It may not be too clearly marked by those around you and there may be few who are following it, but it is clear just the same. It is an old path and it is has not changed in the last two thousand years or so. It is the path that Jesus walked. If you want to know you are in the Father’s will, just follow His steps!
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