“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4:19

Following Jesus Christ and obeying His commands has been a truth stressed in our family for a number of years. Being a pastor’s daughter, I have seen many youth of the present-day Christian church walk away from the things of the Lord and attempt works in the power of their flesh. My heart breaks as I hear story after story of sons and daughters choosing the ‘broad way’.

One of the key principles in faithfully following Christ is a daily submission of our wills. A surrendered person is a broken person. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” A state of surrender involves losing ourselves in the will of God. This is done by giving our purposes to the Lord and embracing His purpose in our lives (knowing and serving Him and making disciples).

Too often, Bible-believing Christians are categorized as hypocrites. This is because the world is seeing us ‘talk the talk’ but not ‘walk the walk’. They see us living for our own selfish ambitions but claiming we love Christ and are following Him whole-heartedly. It’s a life of contradiction. No wonder our youth are falling away!

We will never be able to be fishers of men and draw others to the love of Jesus unless we begin to follow Christ by taking heed to the Spirit and obey His commands. We are to be the light of the world shining bright for the Lord! When others see our good works they will be able to glorify the Father which is in heaven!

I admit that I am continually learning to dethrone my intellect and allow Christ to sit on the throne of my heart. Though many instances in my life, I have had to learn the hard way. Accomplishing my will always results in hardship, pain, suffering, and sorrow but following Christ and discipling others results in a life of freedom, joy and peace. Not only am I blessed in the process but Jesus Christ is glorified!