Following as Long as You Live or Until You Die

Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

During graduation we gave out four honorary degrees to men well deserving of them. They have impacted the world for Christ nationally and internationally. One of them gave the Commencement speech for the graduating class. He talked about leadership within the church community and how we should live, and it impacted me and many listening deeply.

Through each of his three steps he kept coming back to one thing: “If you believe you are chosen by God then you are to serve Jesus faithfully while you live or until you die.” Meaning if you want to be a follower of Christ, it is a full commitment and not just a partial act. You take this part and that part of Christianity, but throw out the hard parts. No, you follow Christ head-on while on this earth as His follower until He takes you home.

It does not matter where you are in life. Maybe you are in a secular position, then you must serve Christ full-on until He calls you home. If you are in Christian ministry then let nothing stop you until Christ takes you home. There are no time-outs in this game, as there is eternity at stake for those who have not heard. Are you a student, then serve and tell people about what you have, or are you embarrassed? Are you sick, then you have a captive audience with nurses and doctors, or do you instead use your illness not to talk about the love of Christ?

Luke 14:26 proclaims, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Wow! Read it again and let it soak in for a while. Your love for Christ in comparison to anyone else is like hate. He comes first before anyone, not your mommy or daddy, not your wife or children. If you have to choose between doing what Christ says or what family says, guess what, you choose Christ. Better to be hated or disliked temporarily then have to stand before the eternal God and answer for what you did.

How many of us have not walked the line because of church politics, or to keep peace within your family? How many of us have not walked full-on for Christ because we were afraid of what someone might say about us, or think about us? How many of us do not follow because we think the Bible does not really mean what it says? How many of us would rather have temporal fame and/or recognition then an eternal reward in Heaven? The questions can go on and on and on.

Think about how many ways we do not follow Christ fully, especially in the areas you know better. Think about your thought life when you are alone. How about your language? The Bible says not to use foul language, but how many of us do it just for shock or so people do not think we are pious. How many drink alcohol and use the excuse that the Bible says we can in moderation, but do not even know what they meant by wine in the context of Jewish culture? Do you mix your wine with 8 to 20 parts water? If not then you are not drinking moderately in the Biblical context, but as what the Jewish culture during that time would call ‘heathen’ drinking, because they knew it would intoxicate you.

As Christians we are called to follow Christ fully without the excuse that you do not want to be seen as a “tea-totaler,” or “pious,” or a religious fanatic. When persecuted for the faith you are to celebrate. When you are following the Bible in its context and what Jesus proclaims then you will be all those names I mentioned above, because the world hates it when Jesus is followed to the fullest. We forget the Spiritual world.

So, for the Christians reading this, I ask you. Are you following Christ fully and willing to do so completely in your life until Christ takes you home? If so, then do some things need to change? Start today, as we do not know when Christ is returning. Pledge to follow Christ no matter the cost.

Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”