An old-time favorite song in our hymnal is entitled, “Footprints of Jesus.”  The first verse of the song reads:

“Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, Come, follow me! And we see where thy foot-prints falling. Lead us to Thee.”

While many have, knowingly or unknowingly, left examples—both good and not-so-good—Jesus alone gives us the perfect example of how life is meant to be lived.  While all Christians should live exemplary lives, the fact is that we all fall short.  At times we should in all honesty say, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  Jesus, however, lived perfectly the manner of life He preached. 

With all of our failures to fit the pattern of Christ, however, we need to diligently heed the words of Peter, who said of Christ, “He left us an example that we should follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). While there are many applications we could make from these words, I will limit this article to three ways many fail to follow where He leads.

Have you followed Jesus in baptism? While His forerunner, John the baptizer, preached the “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mk. 1:4), Jesus came to him for baptism though He had no sins to be remitted, but “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), complying with the will of the Father.  Baptism, for Him, was a committal to His ministry which was to be climaxed in His death, burial and resurrection.  The baptism preached by Christ, His apostles, and the early church was that of immersion in water of penitent believers to claim, by faith, the promise of “the remission of sins” and the “gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36-39).  Yet, without divine authority, churches have substituted infant baptism for penitent-believer-baptism and sprinkling for immersion, and denigrated it to a mere church-ordinance, with no reference to salvation.  It is not surprising, then, that many do not follow the footprints of Jesus in baptism. 

Do you follow Jesus in overcoming temptation?   Temptation immediately followed Jesus’ baptism (Matt. 4).  Throughout His life He was subjected to trials and temptations, being “tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus faced the tempter with Scripture, validating it as authoritative in governing our lives, by saying to Satan, “It is written….” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).  When facing temptations, as did Jesus, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).  Submitting to God’s word.  Jesus truly fulfilled the words of King David’s prayer: “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa. 119:11).

Do you follow Jesus in public worship? In Luke 4:16 we see His custom was to worship in the synagogue, the house of worship of the Jews.  Early Christians followed His example in worshiping together (Acts 2:42; 20:7; Hebrews 10:25).  The public worship of early Christians was for edification—spiritual growth and encouragement through worship in accordance with the word of God—not for entertainment.

Would you commit yourself to fulfill in your life the thought expressed in the chorus of the afore-mentioned song

 “Footprints of Jesus, that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus. Where’er, they go.”      

           –Ron is a retired preacher, living in Milton, FL