In the Gospels, Christ clearly states marks of His disciples – His followers. These marks are not meant to inspire a person to try to manufacture these marks through mere will. Such a journey only results in frustration and a quenched spirit. These marks represent the life-result of God showering a believer with His grace. Another way to express this is to understand that the marks give us a picture of what living out and enjoying God’s grace looks like. One of these marks is to press on in following Christ.
Jesus proclaimed: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Jesus said His disciple would follow Him. Believers follow Christ by imitating Him and obeying His commands. We are to deny self. Denying one’s self means to want what God wants more than anything else. To carry one’s cross means being willing to do anything God calls us to do.
In the Bible, we discover that both Paul and the writer of Hebrews use athletic imagery to explain what it means to follow Christ (see: Philippians 3:12-14; Hebrews 12:1-3). Specifically, the description is of a runner competing in a race. A believer, like a runner, must not let anything take her eyes off the goal of knowing Christ, reflecting Christ and following Him. Like an athlete running a race, she is to keep her eyes fixed on the goal and get rid of everything that would hinder her from achieving the objective of following Christ.
To follow Christ means to be committed to Christ and willing do what is required to live our life rightly in Him. Our race is to be run patiently. We are to battle sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can overcome temptation (see: 1 Corinthians 10:13). We can be cleansed of sin (see: 1 John 1:9). We will stumble if we allow our eyes to stray from Jesus and if we look back on our past. We must always keep Jesus in our sight.
Paul had reason to forget his past. He had been a Christian persecutor before being saved. He had even held the coats of those who had stoned a Christian named Stephen (see: Acts 7:57-58). Like Paul we can keep from looking at the past, by trusting in God’s forgiveness of past offenses against him and others, receiving and walking in His grace. Our sins have been completely forgiven. We are made new in Christ (see: 2 Corinthians 5:17). We can look forward and not be hindered from the past. We can cast our gaze on Christ and not allow sin to entangle us. Christ has given us the victory.
Our following Christ is a real faith journey. It is not a perfect journey, but it is an amazing journey where we grow in our faith. Picking up on the similarities of the athlete, a runner and the believer, both learn and improve. Some runners have various talents that help them run. Every believer is given gifts and talents to help him on his faith journey (see: Romans 12:4-6a; 1 Corinthians 12:4-5; 1 Peter 4:10). However, both the runner and the believer have to run to grow.
Paul wrote: “It is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). Our faith journey begins when we give all we know about ourselves to all we know about God and continue to do so as we grow in Christ. The life of a believer is from faith to faith. Extending from the beginning into the never-ending future and including every large and small detail of life, we relate to God exclusively on the basis of faith. This is why a Christ follower – His disciple – is called a believer.
Paul declared: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The Hebrews writer explains: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Our faith journey is not a straight line upward but one with ups and downs, but ultimately advancing forward and rising up.
Due to God’s grace and strength given to us, we can do anything and everything required of us to run the race and follow Christ. People are willing to pay exuberantly high prices for something they really value. Our following of Christ is a reflection of our understanding of how much God values us as well as the real value we place of Him. Worship is showing worth to someone or something. We express God’s worth; we worship God when we follow Him. A mark of a disciple is to press on in following Him.
I am grateful to run this race with Christ and each of you. Let us encourage one another to press on in following Him. Our stride may not be perfect, but let’s not stop going and growing in Him. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!