The song writer, W. C. Martin wrote a hymn and said; “O I delight in His command, love to be led by His dear hand, His divine will is sweet to me, Hallowed by blood-stained Calvary.” Living in obedience to God’s command is following the footstep of Christ. Jesus lived His life in full obedience to the Father. In John 4:34, Jesus boldly declared: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” Following the footstep of Christ is living in a way that pleases God. Jesus said in John 5:30: “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.” Jesus trusted and obeyed His Father in everything He did. Nothing Jesus did was outside God’s will.

Jesus became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8b). We cannot be called the children of God until we accept God’s command and obey them (John 14:21).

Footprints are unmistakable evidence that someone has passed this way before. Footprints are important. The summary of 1 Peter 2:21 is that Christ has laid the example for us and we are to follow in His steps. The life of Jesus Christ was characterised by one thing – an unquestioning faith in His Father. Whatever God called Jesus to do, He did. Whatever God told Him to say, He said. Whatever person God told Him to minister to, He ministered to. Whatever it cost, whatever the response, Jesus did it. That was the unquestioning characteristic of His life. He showed unwavering faith in His Father and trusted in Him.

Jesus was someone who had learned to trust His Father. And He, then, lays out this line of footprints that we are to follow. And they are all the footprints of faith. To these footprints of faith, we were called to live by it in obedience no matter what it cost. One of the footprints of faith is submission to higher authority. Peter says in verse 18, “Submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those that are harsh.” We are to submit to those who are in authority whether they are Christians or not.

Believers are to live like Christ seeing that we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). As we run the heavenly race, we are to keep Christ’s sterling example vividly in mind. If we are to follow in His steps, we also need to die to our self-will and thus give God the opportunity to be the Lord and Master of our lives.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus said anyone who wants to follow Him must take up his cross daily and follow Him. To take up our cross may mean to “die” to our self-centeredness. In Philippians 2:5, the Bible says: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” The mind that was in Christ was a mind filled with the Word of God to the end that he personified the very heart of God in all that he said and did. Jesus was the epitome of the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. If you and I are to become like Christ, we too must saturate our hearts with the only standard for truly living, the word of God.
Today’s nugget: The Word of God is the only standard for truly living.
Prayer: Lord help me to die to self.
Prayer lines: 08033299824.
E-mail: [email protected]
Rev. Abel UkachiAmadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria