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We are all called to be followers of Christ. Being a follower brings wonder and insight, comfort and peace, but it also brings challenges and encourages us to see the world in new and startling ways.

Following is a daily decision to join our risen Lord on the path to which we are invited. It is a decision to open ourselves to both the wonder and the challenge.

Now is the time to decide. A new, startling view of the world awaits.

Listen

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:59-60

Think

Can you imagine being told you don’t have time to go to your dad’s funeral? The idea is startling, but it’s important to know why Jesus would say this. Jesus told the man that he needed to go proclaim the kingdom of God. Jesus knew that God’s kingdom was already breaking into the world. Jesus knew that there would be resurrection.

So Jesus was trying to show the importance of the work that needed to be done to build the kingdom of God. His focus was on helping the living, and improving the lives of people. Jesus was saying that it takes real work in the world to build the kingdom, and that work should be our focus.

We should be working to help people in the here and now, to make the present better, and live into the hope that we are building the kingdom of God.

Jenny Clamon

Pray

God, help me to see the importance of building your kingdom, that proclaiming the kingdom of God is what it means for me to follow you. Amen.

Go

Following means commitment to a way that is sometime clear,
And sometimes vague.
There is no assurance that you will always know certainty,
But you will surely know this:

The One you follow will always be with you,
Just ahead of you, offering in every moment,
In darkness and in light,
The invitation.