He was a young man who was very wealthy. He enjoyed all of his possessions. Oh, he had studied the Torah and tried to maintain and live by the Law of God, but all the while he knew his life was missing something very important.

He had heard about a rabbi whose name was Jesus and whose teachings were different yet filled with wisdom. So, he went to where Jesus was teaching and asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, who recognized that this young man’s gods had become his money, his possessions, and his position in society, told him to go and sell all he had and “give it to the poor,” and then come and follow Jesus. (See Mark 10:17-31 NIV.)

It is so easy in our secular culture to live, not by the way of Jesus Christ, but by the ways of the world. Too often in our nation and our world we are choosing power, money, possessions, and even hate over living out the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our nation has become so divided. Daily we hear and sometimes participate in name calling and, yes, even downright hatred.

Jesus is not happy with those who claim to be his followers but put the ways of the world ahead of the Way, the Truth, and the Life that is Jesus Christ.

For those of us who claim to follow Jesus, Jesus wants us to walk in His Way: to choose to love as Jesus loves; to look at others in this nation and in our world and see them through the eyes of Christ. To follow Jesus is to love persons of all races, nations, sexual orientations, languages, and social standings.

Are we choosing to do that? As a nation, we are being told that the people of the continent of Africa are not important. We are being told that anyone of color is suspect and can be torn from their homes and deported, even if they are naturalized citizens or born in the United States. This is not who we are as a nation and certainly not who we are to be as those who claim to follow in the Footsteps of Jesus.

There is a hymn of our faith that states: “I have decided to follow Jesus./ I have decided to follow Jesus./ No turning back; no turning back./ The world behind me; the cross before me./ The world behind me; the cross before me./ No turning back; no turning back” (attributed to Simon Marak, 1841).

A number of years ago, my wife and I were privileged to meet a group of former inmates who had turned their lives over to Christ. The hymn cited above became their theme song. They sang this song with great gusto and marvelous smiles on their faces. Then some shared testimonies of how each day they tried to reach out to others who might be lost and hopeless and to share with them the love of Jesus Christ. What an awesome testimony to their faith.

Are we choosing to live out the words of that hymn?

May we, as followers of Jesus, choose to follow not the ways and the hatred and the things of this world, but the way of Jesus. May we choose to love others as Jesus loves us all. To do so will strengthen our nation, our world, and our faith.

Pastor Bob Wallace, retired UM pastor