Following in the steps of Christ is reminiscent of the game children like to play in following another child by trying to step in each of his footprints behind him. The one who follows will do his best to keep up, but he may let his attention get distracted while the leader keeps walking and gets too far ahead. Before long, the child following will lose sight of the leader and become lost.
Easy to Unknowingly Follow in the Wrong Steps
After making attempts for a while to find the missing track of footprints, they may stumble across a different set, mistakenly thinking that they have rediscovered the missing tracks instead. As a result the child will be likely to follow the new prints immediately, without stopping to consider that these footsteps may belong to someone else. Only after they have traveled quite some distance will they come to realize that these are not the right ones. By then the child will be nowhere near where they began and will have also lost the leader altogether.
Our intentions start out good, but when following in His footsteps becomes more difficult and challenging later, we tend to lose our zeal
Initially the Steps of Christ Are Easy to Follow
When we first give our lives over to Jesus, everything is so wonderful, and we are willing and eager to follow Him anywhere He wants to lead us. Our intentions start out good, but when following in the steps of Christ becomes more difficult and challenging later, we tend to lose our zeal. Then we are likely to become distracted and lose sight of where He is heading.
We Wander In Places Jesus Never Went
Sometimes we rediscover His path and return to following Him again. Other times we become lost by wandering around in places where He did not go, hoping to find Him there. But all too often, we end up following the wrong footprints and are never able to find Him again.
Watch and Pray to Avoid Distraction
Jesus gave us an essential command that would help us keep our focus on Him and keep us following His steps. He told us to “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Our “flesh” (physical self) is prone to getting distracted from God and tends to wander and fall for almost any temptation that may come its way. So we can’t depend on our flesh to find the way; we need to keep our focus on Jesus, especially concerning His victory at the cross. If we get distracted, we have stopped watching where He is going, and we often fail to pray.
We need to continually look to Jesus and stay prepared for what is coming. Don’t lose sight of the steps of Christ due to the distractions all around us.
Don’t Lose Sight of the Steps of Christ
Even if we regularly seek God for forgiveness for the sins we have committed, we are still not necessarily watching and praying. We need to continually look to Jesus and stay prepared for what is coming. Don’t lose sight of the steps of Christ due to the distractions all around us. Immediately after a victorious moment, our adversary, the devil, likes to come to steal our victory away, along with our joy. He’ll try to use a time like this to bring a heavy dose of doubt and unbelief into our lives. We therefore need to continually watch concerning our victorious moments, while being sure to seek God in prayer at the same time.
We Must Keep Our Desire in Him
Success in keeping up with the footsteps of Christ only comes from maintaining our desire to stay with Him. But, if we lose interest in His Word, or in the desire to communicate with Him in prayer, we make ourselves vulnerable to distractions instead of following Him. As a result, we won’t notice that the steps of Christ are fading, and will either end up detached from Him, or following another set of footprints that are not His—thereby leading us farther away from Him.
Are we continuing to watch and pray so that we will not get distracted or be led away to follow the wrong set of prints?
How much do we really want to be with Him? So much that we make sure we will follow close enough to Him that the steps of Christ are never out of sight? Are we continuing to watch and pray so that we will not get distracted or be led away to follow the wrong set of prints? Does our focus continue to be on Christ and Him crucified, or has it turned to some distraction we have encountered along the way?
[Additional image credits: Featured image (when applicable) by humbleches on Freeimages.com; Opening image by 2857440 from Pixabay]
