Christians have been commissioned to tell every person about the Lord Jesus Christ (Mt. 28:18-20). It is a charge to do a task for Him. In the Gospels, the twelve disciples followed, learned from and admired Jesus Christ (Mt. 10:1; Jn. 13:35, 15:8). But these individuals alone would never achieve the great commission on their own; it is for all the followers of Christ.

Some evangelists that the Lord has used to impact lives have become world-famous. But even though we may feel unknown to anyone except God, each one of us has an important role to perform. God placed you precisely where you are to reach your immediate circle of neighbors, colleagues and friends. Are you ready to be a useful tool in God’s hand? This is evangelism: to introduce others to your one special Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Following And Commitment
By tracing the word “follow” in Mark’s gospel we discover a picture of commitment that makes all other ties secondary:

  • Fishermen Simon Peter and Andrew left their business to “follow” Jesus and were changed into “fishers of men” (Mk. 1:17-18).
  • Tax collector Levi, who left his collection booth, “followed” at the command of Jesus and soon introduced his Lord to his unsaved friends who also then followed (Mk. 2:14-15).
  • Crowds surging around Jesus in the area of Caesarea Philippi heard Him challenge everyone to make a costly, individual commitment; suffering as part of “following.” “Take up his cross” brought the vivid picture of a publicly humiliated and condemned man to the listeners’ minds (Mk. 8:31,34). Jesus was crucified a short time later (Mt. 27:15-44). Through Him a gentle army of “following” Christians would infiltrate the world with a message of life-transforming love from a holy God.
  • One man described as a “rich” (Mk. 10:22), “young” (Mt. 19:22) “ruler” (Lk. 18:18) wanted to be sure of having eternal life. But the Lord pointed out an obstacle that stood in the man’s way of following Him: the man would not let go of his riches to grasp the Savior (Mk. 10:21; see also Mt. 6:24).
  • Peter with the disciples drew a response from the Lord Jesus Christ affirming eternal rewards for “allowing the things of earth to matter less to them than Jesus and the gospel” (Darrell Bock, The Gospel of Mark). Throughout Christian history men and women have left worldly possessions in order to give themselves to the service of “following” God (Mk. 10:28).
  • A group of women had “followed [Jesus] and cared for his needs” during His earthly ministry (Mk. 15:41; Lk. 8:1-3). Their humble service was used of the Lord during His ministry years. There are always many ways to serve in the overall Christian mission.

A follower goes in a similar manner and the same way as the person whom He is following. Our Lord Jesus Christ encouraged everyone to think seriously about spiritual matters, consider God their Creator, and ponder their eternal destiny. Realizing that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is with us, we should do the same. By His Spirit He is already working in the hearts of those with whom we talk, ordering their life circumstances as well as ours to plant seeds of His Word into lives. I urge you to follow Him, walk with Him and consciously accompany Him in your daily activity.