Why Do I Follow?

Because I believe in the One who called me.

I don't remember a time when I didn't believe in God. I wasn’t raised in the church, and my family wasn’t particularly religious, but my mother and grandmother both shared the basic message of the gospel with me at a very early age. My grandmother taught me a few hymns, and she occasionally read her Bible, but my exposure to scripture was limited to a few “popular” verses. For years, the sum of my faith amounted to an acknowledgment of God and the belief that I had somehow gained a ticket to Heaven because Jesus had paid the price for my sins.

I professed faith, but I wasn’t  a follower. I believed God was there, but I chose to keep my distance.  Knowing little of His character, and mere snippets of scripture, it was easy for me to define God—and  what following after Him entailed—based on my skewed perception and rationalizations. In truth, I was a follower of a god I had concocted and a faith of my own design. The consequences of this self-absorbed religion were frustration, foolishness, and futility.

Eventually, I came to the realization that if God is God, then He is who He is, and my individualized interpretation of Him was irrelevant. The only sensible response was to diligently seek after Him. To search the whole of scripture. To draw near to Him in prayer. To humble myself under the teaching of a Bible-believing church. To set aside my own agenda, and trust that His way is best.

The God I follow is exponentially greater than the god I had invented, and the more I seek Him, the more He reveals. I don't claim to know all the answers, but as I’ve learned to surrender my will to His way, I have learned that He is worthy of my trust. Why do I follow? Because I believe God is God.

"...'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'" -John 6:68-69