Living Simply as a Jesus Follower

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked " I John 2:6

Knowing how to live as a Jesus follower is very easy. According to our Scripture reference today being a follower of Jesus is simply doing the same things Jesus did. This means there is one person to emulate and in everything we do and there is an audience of only observing and approving what we do. 

Unfortunately we often feel guilty because we fall to live up to the standards we perceive are necessary to please God. We feel guilty when we don't read our bible as often as we think we should. We fell guilty when our prayer life does not measure up to what we think it should be. At other times we think activity corresponds to godliness so we do things that we think God will approve of and make him pleased with us. Many times these are good things but they lack compassion for the people who are on the receiving end benefitting from our activity. 

How then does a disciple of Jesus walk in the way Jesus walked? Using our examples above it starts with seeing our bible reading as an opportunity to know Jesus better and not as an obligation. It means using our prayer time to sit in the presence of Jesus and allow him equal time to speak rather than using all the time to lay out the things we want him to do. 

From the examples we see in Jesus life we find some clues of how we can walk in the same way he walked. Jesus enjoyed spending time talking to the Father. A lot of the rest of his time was doing good for people who needed help. Another thing he did was teach and train his disciples.  

At the risk of turning our walk with Jesus into a to do list here is some simple things we can do to be like Jesus: 

• Relax and enjoy the time we spend in Scripture reading and prayer. 

• Seek ways to engage with and help people in need. 

• Mentor and disciple someone else in their walk with Jesus.