No Turning Back

“I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back…no turning back. The world behind me, the cross before me…no turning back…no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow…no turning back…no turning back.” I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, a song based on the actions of Nokseng, a Garo man from a Meghalaya tribe in Assam.

Yesterday when I was walking, this old song from my early childhood came floating into my mind and heart for the first time in decades. I was immediately transported back to my church and the pastor who regularly offered altar calls. I can’t remember the first time I stood up in the pew, made my way to the aisle and walked down to the altar, but I do remember that it didn’t even seem like a choice. It seemed like I couldn’t get there fast enough. My heart would race and everyone else was blocked out from my sight. This song couldn’t be played without me responding by rushing down front…again and again. My mother still jokes about how often I marched down that aisle, and how people must have thought I was the biggest sinner. A for a moment yesterday morning I was back in this little girl's body remembering the power of Good News!

But this morning as I am listening to the song again, it dawned on me that what that little girl knew 52 years ago is what this 58-year-old woman still needs to be reminded of. That while we all received Jesus into our heart at one point, we still must choose to follow Him every day. We still must choose to follow Him when He leads us into the unknown. We must still be willing to follow Him when our plans are not His plans for us. We must take our eyes off the world and keep the sacrifice of the cross always in front of us. We can’t turn back on spiritual land we have already conquered in Christ. We can’t turn back when we don’t get our way. We can’t turn our back on what the Bible says in order to please other people. We must understand that at some point in life God will arrange circumstances to where we must decide whether we are really still following Jesus…even if no one supports us…though none go with us.

I love my contemporary Christian music but there is something very powerful about the old hymns beckoning us to remember the simple truths of Jesus. The decision to originally follow…the choice to keep following…the freedom of the cross because He followed.