We all have things we follow. It maybe a football team or a pop band. It maybe an author or a political party. It maybe someone on twitter or social media. It maybe people we aspire to be like.

Years ago I was sat in my parents house. I was about 15 years of age. We had a guest from America who was a businessman. He looked me in the eyes and asked me “are you a leader or a follower, a winner or a loser?” I was quite thrown by this question and did not know how to respond. He then shared a story about how he had worked for a company and one day he was told his boss was in the building. His boss found him sat in his office with his feet up on his desk and he said to him “I don’t pay for you to put your feet up on your desk” and he replied “no you pay me to increase sales and this is what I have done.” He then said after this he realised he could not work for anyone else.

I have often pondered over this conversation. As a Christian I love how Jesus turned everything upside down and the right way up. Yes he said “follow me” but he also washed his disciples feet. He came to serve but yet had authority. He said the least would be the greatest in heaven. People followed him because they had questions, they had pain, they were tormented, they had heard good report of him, they were burdened by their sins and he met them where they were and ministered into their situation. He was concerned with their heart condition. He addressed their need for forgiveness and relationship with the Father as of the utmost importance as well as their physical, intellectual and emotional needs. He came not to condemn but to save. I have followed many things and people in my life but the one thing that continues to draw me and move me, change me and challenge me, turn everything upside down and the right way up, exposing my hidden motives and bringing me into unchartered waters of faith and dependence on him in all the shakings of life has been my faith in Jesus. He has never let me down. There have been times when people have but he has never let me down. As I have been honest with him he has both carried me and helped me follow his ways and apply the counsel of his word into my life and this has kept me in the storms. I have found myself meeting people I would never have met and learning so much from them. People may come and go but the love of God remains. His love never fails.

When I asked the question what’s the point? all those years ago I felt so alone. I was frustrated by my own failures and the failures of others. Into that vacuum of disillusionment Jesus revealed himself and I encountered his love and word. I knew that this love was everything I had ever wanted or looked for and this was who I wanted to follow. It is good to have many interests but there is the danger of putting things or people we follow on a pedestal and when they are not able to maintain our expectations we find ourselves disappointed. The thing about following Jesus is it is not a selfish thing it is something that leads you to care for others and share what he has done for you. It has a cost but in it there is the sweetness of knowing you are loved and that God has a plan and a purpose for you with all the giftings, experience and positioning you have. To live a life of integrity and service that prefers others. I leave you with the question “who do you follow?”

When I was a conference last weekend I heard the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). David was offered King Saul’s armour to wear when he fought Goliath but when he tried it on he realised that he was not familiar with it and it would not help him do what he wanted to do. David took off the armour and went and collected 5 smooth stones from the stream and put these in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. He then used his sling to throw a stone at Goliath which brought him down and then David was able to kill him. David’s experience of being a shepherd protecting his sheep from lions and bears helped him defeat Goliath. Along with his faith in God. 1 Samuel 17:37 says “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

I was given the opportunity to speak about a ministry that I am involved in and passionate about. I began to feel nervous about this. But then I thought about the story of David and Goliath and this encouraged me to be myself using what was in my hand. I did not have to wear someone elses armour and be somebody I was not. When I did speak I was able to use my past experience of public speaking to make the vision plain so that others could run with it if they chose to.

Last night I was at a meeting when someone spoke about open faces. How it is important that we are able to live a life of love wherever we go and whatever we do. That people can see our care and compassion for them in our faces. As we reflected together on this we realised that we needed to spend time with God reading the bible, being honest and real with him in prayer and giving him praise. In the bible it speaks of Christians who have forsaken their first love (Revelation 2:4-7). They had done many good deeds but God was calling them back into the place of intimate relationship with him. As we receive the love he has for us we can then overflow with the hope we have in him.

In Colossians 3:13 it says that when we are chosen by God to live a life of love we should dress in the wardrobe God has picked out for us “compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it. (the Message) People can look amazing in the latest fashion but when they speak and act this beauty can be short lived. On the other hand you can have people that may dress very ordinary and yet their actions and words make them beautiful. The bible says that man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

What are you wearing? The bible speaks of being clothed in righteousness. It maybe that you think good deeds are enough. Christians believe that all fall short and that we need the mercy and forgiveness of God. We believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for all the things we have done wrong and make us clean. Jesus rose gain so that we can have a relationship with him here on earth and for all eternity.