Jesus won't unfollow you; So keep following Him

I remember sitting at the beach one day watching our kids play in the surf and build sand castles. As I scanned the beach, I noticed a father and son walking along the waters edge. The boy was probably only three or four years old and trailed behind his dad by several yards. What caught my attention was that the son was doing everything in his power to walk in the footprints of His father. He had to jump each step in order to land in the next step, but it was clear that more than anything else, he wanted to be like his dad.

We are created to be followers. We follow our parents, we follow our friends, we follow our favorite sports figures. Growing up, I followed Isaiah Thomas because he was a short basketball player having great success in the NBA. I watched his games, I studied his style and I tried to imitate his game (in case you're wondering, it was a poor imitation). To follow someone is to watch them, study them and imitate them.

This morning, my Ephesians study took me back to the beginning of the book to review where we've been to this point. I didn't get past the first verse before I was struck by Paul's description of the Ephesian Christians. He wrote:

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

Paul knew these people because he had spent three years leading their church. When given the opportunity to describe them, he called them "faithful followers". They were watching Jesus, studying Jesus and imitating Jesus; and they faithfully kept doing it day after day after day.

I usually do a pretty good job of watching Jesus and studying Jesus, unfortunately I'm not always so good at imitating Him. My words don't always sound like His words. My attitude isn't always the same as His (check out Philippians 2 for more on that). My actions don't always impact others the way His did.

I need to follow Him more closely. I need to check myself regularly and ask whether or not I'm imitating the person I most admire. I hope you'll do the same!