Oluwamuyiwa Okuseinde
“And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me” (Luke 5:27).
In the early days of His ministry, Jesus often called specific people to follow and join Him in spreading the message of the kingdom of God. In those instances, we see clearly Christ’s intentions and expectations for those who would follow Him.
In today’s Bible passage, Jesus called on Levi, a tax collector to follow Him. Observe that Jesus did not ask Levi, or any other person for that matter, to follow religion. We must always distinguish Christ from religion. Religion is a man made contraption to relate to the Supreme Being on man’s terms. However, Christ, from whom the term ‘Christianity’ is derived, is the Messiah ordained by God through whom we may approach and worship Him.
Unfortunately, much of what people practice as Christianity is nothing more than mere religion. This is obvious from the fact that we often find forms of Christianity that is devoid of anything closely reminiscent of Christ. Christianity without Christ, His grace and righteousness, is nothing but toothless, powerless and useless religion.
Besides, many others are following denominations, or certain religious systems, or some religious leaders. Christ commanded nothing of such. Also, there are those following miracles, signs and wonders. To such, just like He said to those who followed Him for bread, Jesus says they should not labour for things that won’t last, at the expense of eternal life which He, the Son of man represents (John 6:26-27).
Today, the instruction of Christ remains, “Follow me”. Keep your eyes on Him and follow Him. And if you must follow any man, let it be in so far as that man follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). If you do this, you will never get into trouble.
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FURTHER BIBLE READING: LUKE 5:27-35.
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EXERCISES
- What new insight have you gained from the above message? Please write it down in your journal.
- What would be your prayer points and what are the steps you will take?
- If you have been blessed by this message, please share it with your friends and loved ones.
TODAY’S MESSAGE
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