Friday, June 10, 2011

Day 31: Following In Your Footsteps

Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

 

Last night when we went for our evening time, it was a perfect night. We got out of the car and for a few minutes just enjoyed the evening breeze as we stared up into eternity.  The fields and the dirt road were recently plowed, so the grounds consisted of a combination of packed down dirt as well as loose mounds of dirt (which the kids loved!).

The kids took a few minutes to enjoy the dirt. Carlos stepped in and out of the dirt mounds leaving deep footprints. Gabriela followed him, stepping right into the imprints he had left behind.


She was, literally, following in his footsteps. 

Of course, we took the next few minutes to use this teachable moment to explain to Carlos the spiritual implications of what had just happened.  His younger siblings were watching him and follow his leading. He needed to be aware to follow the right path and lead them in the right direction. So in other words "do the right thing"...uhhmm, no pressure!

So this is where today's blog stems from. A great spiritual principle that applies to everyone, not only older siblings.


Did you ever feel like you were being followed?
Well, you are.

We see it mostly with our kids.  They copy our good and our bad habits.  I don't think there's anything worse that noticing our bad habits being mirrored by our children. 

 Who else follows us?
Family, friends, and those who are curious about our faith.

Everyday we're faced with choices to make that not only affect us, but also those who are following or watching our footsteps. Our decisions should be based on the example that Christ left for us because when we come to Christ we're called to leave it all at the foot of the cross. Preferences, popular opinion, or whatever else affects our actions.

Sometimes when we're out and about on a rainy day, it only takes one of my kids to step in a puddle for the rest of them follow. One untimely decision made by one of the kids, leads the rest of them to play "follow the leader"  and they all end up dirty!

So where are our footprints leading others?
It all depends on who's footprints we're following daily ourselves.

1 Peter 2:21 says,
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.



WHO we follow determines if we are
 leading others into muddy puddles and rough terrains or onto the straight path that leads to life.

So, as we go about our Christian walk remember to make daily decisions that lead us and others closer to Christ with our actions modeling the attitude of Paul as he said to the church in Corinth... 


1 Corinthians 11:1

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.



 Where do your footprints lead to?

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