How to become Christ’s follower?

What does it take to become a follower of Christ? I believe that following Christ does not do something with the religion, though I think many would say it is just as simple as that. Being a follower is not also about that label when you are called a “Christian”, because I believe that being a follower is about dying from your old self for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

-Mark 8:34, NIV

As Jesus said on the verse above, it is all about losing yourself. It is all about dying from your past, your old self in order to live for Christ’s sake! It is about leaving everything that is of worth for you behind in order that you would be given a new life, a life where Christ would be your ruler. For in Christ, there is life.

Jesus also said that we should take up our own cross along the way, until the very end. We would suffer many things in our lives because we choose to follow Christ. It is hard to do because we would go against the flow of the world! But only in this that we would rightfully be called a follower of Christ.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

-Mark 8:35, NIV

It is very visible in our generation that many people are living for themselves. Studying to gain personal knowledge and working in order to gain money. I am not saying that it is bad to do these things, but I wish that they do these not for their own personal gain. If I look at the world right now, I could say that everything is all about “I”. Everything that these people do, it is all for themselves! Even in what they think, their worries, etc, it is still all about themselves.  But I believe that when the time come, probably when they are near the end of their lives, they would just end up saying: “I didn’t notice, I have wasted so much time in my life for all these temporary things”. And yes, that’s true. They would regret everything when that time comes, because they have invested so much on the things that are not eternal. All they can do at that time is to wait for their death.

But Jesus said that those people who will lose their lives for His sake will save it. If we live by His commands, go against the flow of the world, take up our own cross, preach the gospel in order to save souls, and follow Him all the way, we will never regret anything even when our time of death comes. Why? Because that death will only be the “physical death”! Jesus promised that those who can do these will be rewarded with eternal life!

Now, I want to ask you this question: Are you a follower of Christ?


Original link for the photo: http://www.turnbacktogod.com/10-signs-of-a-jesus-follower/