Follow Me

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Mark 8:34

Many years ago, my grandfather told me to stay out of the hen house when the eggs were hatching. He said that who ever the chick sees first will become its mother. Of course, I did not believe him, but I kept my distance from the coup. Maybe he was right! Tracy Crump, (All God’s Creatures) shares a great story and powerful message.

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My family settled onto tree stumps with other campers gathered to hear a nature talk. A seasoned park ranger showed us specimens of some of the flora and fauna common to the park and then opened a cage to introduce us to the star of the show. Out shuffle-hopped a huge black bird with a face only a mother could love. The vulture followed the ranger around as he told us its history.

After the bird’s nest was destroyed, rescuers brought the only surviving egg to the ranger’s station. When the egg hatched, the chick “imprinted” on its caretaker and now identified with humans rather than vultures, making it impossible to release the vulture into the wild. The ranger had been raising the hatchling for two years.

“He thinks I’m his mother and follows me everywhere,” the ranger said. “Vultures can live forty or more years in captivity, so he may outlive me.”

While I don’t dwell on their diet of roadkill, vultures do perform an important role in ecology. Rehabbers say they are intelligent, sociable, and even affectionate. But what impressed me that day was how closely the vulture shadowed “his human” and watched the man’s face for hints of what he would do next.

How I long to follow Christ like that.

I want to remain completely dependent on Jesus and lovingly watch His face to discern HIS thoughts and know what direction He wants me to go. I want to trust Him in everything. Too many times, the concerns and responsibilities of life deter me from pursuing Christ as I should. I must remind myself that Jesus is the One to follow, no one else. Who would have thought a vulture would imprint that lesson on me?

There is no cost you can pay in following Jesus that won’t be made up a thousandfold in the resurrection.  —John Piper

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Heavenly Father, help us to follow You more closely. Teach us to watch Your every move. AMEN.