Stop, Drop and Follow!

In elementary school we learn the critical fire safety phrase "stop, drop and roll." This valuable instruction has saved many physical lives.

There is a similar plan for our spiritual lives: stop, drop and follow Christ, just as He has asked.

When we read John 1:35-51 [35] Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
[36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
[37] And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
[38] Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
[39] He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
[40] One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
[41] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
[42] And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
[43] The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
[44] Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
[45] Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
[46] And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
[47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
[48] Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
[49] Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
[50] Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
[51] And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

See All..., we see Christ inviting His disciples to stop, drop what they were doing and follow Him. Andrew had been following John the Baptist; it was now time for him to be a follower of Jesus Christ. He quickly found his brother Simon (verse 41). The excitement grew when Christ invited Philip to follow Him in verse 43. Philip then passed along the news to Nathanael. As we read in the account in Matthew 4:18-22 [18] And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
[19] And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
[20] And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
[21] And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
[22] And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

See All..., it becomes clear that the disciples chose to stop, drop and follow. The choice these men made set an example for us today.

The commitment to follow is not a new one. In the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. there are several recordings of God's people following Him. Consider the exampe of the husband-and-wife team Abram and Sarai. In Genesis 12:1-4 [1] Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
[2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
[3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
[4] So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

See All... they stopped, dropped and followed God into a new land and a new life, taking a journey they had never taken before. Of course, the Israelites under the leadership of Moses followed God for decades.

In Numbers 14:24But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
See All..., we find an Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. celebrity named Caleb. In the middle of verse 24 God states that Caleb "has followed Me fully."

These are all examples of strong men and women who lived and followed a journey much like our own. They, like us, did not know what tomorrow would bring, but they chose to follow God with faith. We have been invited to do the same!

We have read about those who chose to say, "Yes, I will follow." We also have recorded for us examples of those who did not make the same choice. In Luke 9:57-62 [57] And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
[58] And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
[59] And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
[60] Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
[61] And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
[62] And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

See All..., we find those who, unfortunately, could not commit to such a following and made excuses.

This is where the story becomes personal. This is where you stop, drop and follow—no one else can do this for you! Step number one has occurred—God has stopped you. He has your attention. Are you going to give Him all your focus or something less?

Number two: What do you need to drop? Is it like the fishing net that Peter, Andrew, James and John dropped? In other words, is physical livelihood getting in the way of following Him completely? It's important to realize that we all still have the same excuses to overcome as those in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ..

Number three: Take the step of faith to drop whatever it is and follow. Drop the insecurities that can hold us hostage from following Christ to the fullest.

Christ's first words and some of His last are the same: "Follow Me." Each step of our physical life leads us to a deeper dependency on Christ's life and death for us, for our journey is a daily adventure of commitment to follow His path. Our ultimate goal is to be a part of His inclusive plan for all mankind, to serve, to love and to follow our Father as our Elder Brother has done. Don't wait for an emergency "9-1-1" fire plan. Stop, drop and follow today! UN