“Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” (John 21:22)
They have the nicest house in the neighborhood, two new vehicles, they shop at the finest stores, whilst you live in a place that needs some work, drive a car that seems ready to fall apart, and hope to have enough money left over to purchase some necessary items before your next paycheck.
You follow me.
He is the one that everyone wants to speak with, he knows all the latest news around town, what’s going on, what’s going to be happening soon, they congregate around him as he speaks of the local gossip, the international events, as he talks of all the items that will soon fade away, that have no eternal value.
You talk with them for only moments, for they are polite, they are kind, they do not exactly avoid you at all costs, but they do not seek you out for the truth, for the wisdom that has been imparted to you by the Most High. They are not concerned with eternal life; they do not want to know the way to salvation.
You follow me.
They seek her company because she is what the world calls pretty, beautiful. They want to be near him, for he is what the world calls a man, strong, virile, handsome. You want to tell them that it is fleeting, that it will not last, you want to speak to them about the One of whom it is said, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2) But they are consumed with the temporary, not with what is everlasting.
You follow me.
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) We do not know who they are, they have no glow about them, they do not dress in a way that states that they are a citizen of the same country as you, that they are bound for heaven. We do not have the eyes of angels, or of God, we see what the world sees, a strong man, a beautiful woman, a man lying in the gutter, a tired woman with three children. We see our neighbors, but until we speak to them, we do not know if they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If the Lord has said to you, follow me, you can rest assured that one of the places that He is leading you is to people, how many of them are lost sheep He will decide, you cannot tell, so you speak to nearly all you meet. There is no other way to find out if they are one of your brothers or sisters in Christ, you have to open your mouth and let the Holy Spirit lead the conversation. It is as simple as this, and you probably have never heard it said from the pulpit, it is too direct, too convicting, too personal, if you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will speak to others about Him, if you do not, you will not.
Contemplate this, on your day of accounting, which question will the Lord focus on in His conversation with you, “Why did you?” or “Why didn’t you?”
If you are truly following Jesus Christ, where you are is where He wants you to be. If you are in a fine house or a small apartment, if you have a nice vehicle or you take the bus, if you are attractive or what the world would call average, who you are and where you are if He is the Lord of your life is where you are to be, and where He is leading you is where you are to follow.
If you love the Lord, you will speak to them about Him, if you do not speak to them, then you will have some very serious questions to answer on that day that will indeed arrive. And He will expect answers.
