70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"  71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)  

I remember hearing a definition of a leader- someone who has a follower. That seems to be it in a nutshell. I suppose you can say the opposite of a follower - someone who has a leader. One may not need the title of a leader to have the influence over another. Most leaders only lead in certain situations or for a certain period. A teacher may be a leader for an hour or so in a classroom.  A boss might be the leader for 8 hours during the day to accomplish a task. A parent, however, is a leader over their child who makes the decisions and has the responsibility for their youngsters as to others who else might have leadership influence. The parents decide what school the child attends, what church they go to, and how much TV or internet they are allowed to watch.  

To decide to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is also a matter of yielding to His leadership in your life and in your decisions. There is no question Judas was a disciple of Jesus Christ, but he had a different agenda. He sought to accomplish different goals and to that end Jesus helped with those goals. He was willing to follow for a time, but when Judas’ own goals and purposes became more important and money more attractive, he abandoned the following of Jesus and betrayed Him.  

When Jesus says to take up your cross and follow Him, He is calling us to a complete understanding that, as the Son of God, He wants to lead in all areas of our lives. He does not want just Sunday morning leadership. He is not interested in just church environment leadership. He is first in our studies, in our work, in our purchases, in our marriages, in our parenting, and in our entertainment. To be a disciple of Jesus is to realize who He is. In following and obeying Him life takes us on a different road.  

“Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things I say?” He asks in Luke 6:46.

There were days when the disciples questioned Jesus. There were times they were concerned about their own wants. There were times when they were discouraged, tired, upset, weak and sinful, but after committing themselves to Jesus they did not quit. After falling they get up again and continued their journey with Jesus as their head. There was no one else who had the words of life. He became their purpose for living. He was their Master. He was their Lord.

That could not be said of Judas. He was a false follower. A true mark of a real Christian disciple is following Jesus wherever and always. Peter fell, but he did not fall away. He had faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and followed Him all the way.  

The words we long to hear when life is done is, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” 

Applilcation:   Pray that the Lord might work in you to make Him your purpose for living, your Master, your Lord.   

Prayer:  Lord, I read this and desire deeply to follow You.  Thank you that I can be "confident of this, that he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:6  Do a mighty work in me, O Lord.  

Dale