HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord in John 8:12. By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
These words by Thomas a Kempis, a Dutch Christian born around 1380 AD in his book the imitation of Christ (Ch. I:I) are as relevant today as they were 6 centuries ago. Following Christ is not a matter of sound theologizing, outward religious observance, evangelistic zeal or exhuberant worship. Instead it is a matter of faithful following the Good Shepherd in daily obedience. It is not about being charitable and religious around Christmas time but It is about walking in the footsteps of Christ 24/7. We must remain on the way of Christ from the day we put our faith in Him and acknowledged His Lordship over our lives until the day we die in Him. It is the only way to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, keeping our flesh under control by the power of the Spirit of God so that having run our race we may not be disqualified for going off track. Let us therefore firmly focus on Christ and re-commit ourselves daily to obeying Him by loving God & Neighbour and not obeying the desires of our self-centered nature
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