When Jesus Follows

“‘Come and see, Lord,’ they said. Jesus cried.” John 11:34-35. “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him” Luke 24:15” Luke 24:15

This morning I was thinking about the multitude of people who have followed Jesus in the past. I began thinking of the disciples and the throngs of people mentioned in the Bible who followed Him all around for various reasons. Even the enemies of Jesus followed Him around to try to trick Him, discredit and humiliate Him. The New Testament is filled with stories of the followed and the followers. But this morning I realized something precious. I realized that we are followers of Christ because He has been following us. He has followed us from birth ensuring we were protecting and loved. He follows us each day in whatever we have planned. He will follow us into the gates of Heaven to fellowship with us in eternity.

Jesus has been following people for centuries. He followed Mary and Martha to the tomb to see where Lazarus was laid. He followed the travelers on the road to Emmaus until it was time for Him to reveal Himself. He followed the disciples onto the beach after the resurrection and patiently waited by the fire. He followed his brother James and called out his name after He was raised from the dead. He follows the one sheep who strays from the fold and brings them back. He followed His Father’s will all the way to the cross so we could follow Him. Oh, what a follower He was and still is!

When we lay our loved ones to rest, He follows us through the process and picks us up when we cannot stand the journey any more. He follows us into our darkness when pain and heartache enter our lives. He follows us in our celebrations and also in our wanderings. Like the people on the road to Emmaus we may not recognize His presence, but we certainly can depend on His promise. He has promised that He will never leave us, and He hasn’t. He has promised that He will never forsake us, and He won’t. He has promised that He is not only near us but living inside of us.

Most of the time we are following Jesus, but we don’t ever have to doubt that He also follows us in our greatest time of need. He knows our heart and when we need Him most. There have been times in my life when I left the house to be alone because I was upset. All I ever really wanted was for someone to come after me and comfort me. But people cannot read our hearts and many times people respond based on what they would want in our situation. Not Jesus…He sees right into our hearts and will follow us no matter where we go. May we have eyes to see when Jesus suddenly shows up next to us like He did on the road to Emmaus.

“Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him…” Luke 24:31-32.