Following Jesus - The New Life - Abundant Life - A Rich and Satisfying Life
by Mark Parsec(373)
Blogz
Recently, I wrote on embracing a New Life. This new life, of which I speak, is the new life that we have found through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJV).
As we set out to live the new life in Christ Jesus, there are some things that we need to consider if we want to be successful at living a life that is both individually satisfying and pleasing to the Lord. The first thing that we need to consider is that any life ran on self-propulsion is bound to be a failure. Now, I know that some of you are probably scratching your heads about that statement, so allow me to clarify it for you.
We have all heard of self-made men and women. People whom through sheer willpower and self-determination, have conquered every obstacle in their path on their rise to fame and glory. Now, however, the thing to remember is that a person may have fame, and glory, riches and power… BUT, that does not necessarily make them successful. Nor does it make their lives essentially satisfying or pleasing to the Lord. I have known a lot of rich and famous people who are absolutely miserable with themselves and with life
Sadly, many of the so called famous and successful people have achieved their fame and glory through moral compromise, unethical practices, even from stealing, killing and even destroying the things that got in their way.
But, in the Word of God, Jesus tells us in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
So, we need to understand that the new life in Christ is life abundantly. But, what does it mean to have “life abundantly”?
I like the way the New Living Translation translates John 10:10, where Jesus says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
So, “life abundantly” is a life that is rich and satisfying. Now, by rich, we don’t necessarily mean a life of financial wealth. Rather, it is a life rich with purpose and meaning, a life that is rewarding.
I like to garden and I know from my own personal experience that there is a huge difference between a healthy and an unhealthy plant. Some plants are alive… barely! They are stunted, dwarfed, they languish and wilt… but they’re alive!
Then there are other plants that just seem to flourish and sprawl; they thrive and grow and are filled with life abundantly and produce all kinds of fruit.
If you were a plant, which would you be? The wilted plant or the flourishing plant? Which do you want to be?
Jesus said He came that we might have LIFE and have it more abundantly! He came that we might have a rich, satisfying and rewarding life. But, it isn’t going to happen all by itself, there is something that we must do… we must follow Jesus.
There is something else that I learned from plants... Most plants reach out towards the sun. They grow towards the light. They follow the sun as it makes its way across the sky. In the morning, the plants reach towards the east. In the evening, they reach towards the west. Those plants that are in the shadows… languish and die.
So, if we want to walk in the newness of life that Christ has promised to all those who believe, then we need to follow Jesus. If we want the abundant life that Jesus promises, we need to turn to Him like plants turning towards the sun. This is not only good advice, it is something that Jesus taught us
So, what kind of people followed Jesus in the Bible? All kinds of people from every walk of life.
Fishermen Followed Jesus
In Matthew 4:18-25 (NKJV) we are told…
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
A Tax Collector Followed Jesus
In Matthew 9:9, we are told, “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.” And we can be sure that Matthew was not the only tax collector to follow Jesus.
Women Followed Jesus
In Matthew 27:55-56, the Word says, “55 And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Blind Men Followed Jesus
In Matthew 9:27 we are even given an account of two blind men that followed Jesus! As a result, their blindness was healed.
Sinners Followed Jesus
In Mark 2:15 we are told, “Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
Multitudes Followed Jesus
In Matthew 4:23-25 the Bible tells us,
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
So… In the Gospels, everywhere you look you see people following Jesus. Jesus simply said, “Follow me.” And people followed. It was true with Peter and Andrew, James, John and Matthew. It was true with great multitudes of people from every walk of life (Matthew 8:1, 18, 12:15, 14:13, 19:2, etc.).
People Who Didn’t Follow
But… sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes things come between us and Jesus. Instead of following Jesus, we find ourselves following other things, like… football, or relatives, friends, acquaintances, money, sex, power!
In Luke 9:57-62 the Bible tells us…
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
People say they are going to follow Jesus, but in reality they follow something else.
In Matthew 10:37-39 (NKJV) Jesus said, “37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
And again, in Matthew 16:24 “…Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
If we are going to follow Jesus, we need to stop relying upon ourselves, our own understanding, our own interests, plans and effort. Following Jesus is about denying ourselves and putting Him first.
When we follow self, when we think that we know better than God, what is best for us, we invariably miss the mark that leads to the abundant life. Even plants don’t provide their own sunlight. They must reach for the sun.
In Jeremiah 7:23-24 (NKJV), the Word of God tells us, “23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
If things are not going well with you, then maybe it is time for a change of heart. If you are tired of going backward, then maybe it is time to change direction. Going backwards can only leave a person in spiritual darkness.
In John 8:12Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
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Article submitted Saturday, January 09, 2010 & read 615 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Jim Johnson from Everett WA (201 days 16 hours ago.)
Great read for a Sunday morning. Thank you Jim JohnsonRespond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec from Blogz (201 days 10 hours ago.)
Hi Jim,
Thank you. Hope you have a great day.
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» left by Anonymous (201 days 14 hours ago.)
An Abudant life?Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec from Blogz (201 days 10 hours ago.)
Yes! An Abundant Life. Absolutely!
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» left by Jonny (201 days 8 hours ago.)
Could I have an Abudant life as well??Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec from Blogz (201 days 8 hours ago.)
Hi Johnny,
I believe so. All you have to do is follow.
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» left by carol fernandez from uk (175 days 14 hours ago.)
Hope you do not mind my disagreeing here and that it can be done in the complete absence of antipathy and indeed with friendhip.What he was trying to teach was that that kngdom of heaven is within, this is where God is. He wanted us to take complete responsibility for our thoughts, words and deeds. We are all still connected to the creator at our core and thus in this sense are all divine-we have to seek this within by listening to our heart and the whisperings of our soul.This way, we connect to our higher self and thus God. we all know what is wrong or right in our inner being and should not need to either be told or to read in a book how we should behave.Everyone got the wrong end of the stick and things were changed by 'the scratching of many pens; also people started to get him confused with God. He was trying to show the way, but is not God and wants only to be understood, not worshipped.He was trying to teach a way to help us to find our own personal relationship with God.Many enlightened individuals, perhaps all, spend or spent time alone often in meditation as this is possibly the only way to hear one's inner voice, where only truth exists.Jeshua alao says; 'Hebrew scribes make great story tellers but poor documentarians'.Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec(373)
Hi Carol,
I think we probably agree more than you might suspect. Semantics often times have a way of creating barriers in communication. A note of caution, however, is that a person must be cautious not to confuse the "inner voice of self" with the inner voice of God. And just as God may communicate with the individual, so also the Father of Lies. So, one can never be too careful when discerning the spirits.
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» left by Kathleen Williams (137 days 7 hours ago.)
Very good article Mark.......saw things in a different way. thanks.Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec(373)
Hi Kathleen,
Good to hear from you. I'm glad that you enjoyed the article. Thank you for your comments.
God bless you,
Mark
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