Grown Up's Guide to Prayerনমুনা

Day 5: Lead Us to . . . Love 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me not only believe in you, but follow you. Lead me to a life of doing for others what you’ve done for me. Lead me to a life of love.

Reading

For our faith to grow up, our prayers have to grow up. Thankfully, Jesus shows us how to pray correctly. Instead of my will be done, my kingdom come, Jesus invites us to something bigger. He invites us to follow him. But . . . follow him where, exactly? 

He said it multiple times: “Follow me.” Jesus never altered his invitation to follow him, but the church eventually did. If you think about it, it’s understandable. “Follow me” has strings attached. It involves to-dos and to-don’ts. It requires that we say yes to Jesus and no to ourselves. So the church shifted the invitation to: believe in me. That’s much easier and much less demanding. It’s no surprise that the most popular statement in the New Testament has become:

"Whoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life." (John 3:16)

And one of the most unpopular statements in the New Testament is something Jesus actually said.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

Chances are, you’ve never seen a Matthew 16:24 tattoo. Unfortunately, the message of Jesus was reduced to believe in me. 

But Jesus’s invitation is not an invitation to merely believe something. A faith that has been reduced to only believing is counterfeit Christianity. Faith that doesn’t do anybody any good isn’t any good. James, the brother of Jesus, was clear about that. He said that an inactive faith is useless. 

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?" (James 2:14)

Jesus was clear as well. 

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

Jesus spoke of putting his principles into practice. He did not say: Everyone who hears these words of mine . . . and is content to jot them down in a notebook and tuck it way. 

Jesus said, “Follow me.” Follow him right here and right now on earth, not just to heaven. Yes, following requires surrender. But here’s a promise: Jesus will not lead you into temptation. He won’t leave you chasing your own tail, circling round and round after your own agenda—because he loves you. He leads you to look beyond you. He leads you to do for others what he has done for you. That’s where life—a life that is truly life—is found. So . . . follow.

It’s amazing that our first-century Savior reduced all of life to one unchangeable command with the potential to change everything, in spite of how much things change. Jesus said:

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

That’s what following looks like. It’s what following requires. That’s where following Jesus takes us, not only to heaven someday, but to love today. It takes us to a love that positions us to be a means to an end that is not us. Jesus will not lead us into temptation, which is about the neglect or perhaps mistreatment of others. For the record—the opposite of temptation isn’t heaven. 

The opposite of temptation is love. 

Can you pray sincerely, lead me not into temptation?

“Lead me.” The assumption is that you have decided to follow Jesus. Have you? The assumption is that you have surrendered your will. Have you? Can you pray that? Can you pray the way Jesus instructed you to pray? Does that create some tension? Again, pay attention to that tension. It’s where God wants to work in you. And before you push back and decide all this is too high a price to pay, consider: What do you have to show for all the times you’ve given in to temptation? What did you gain? 

Saying yes to temptation usually results in loss. It brings a lack or an erosion—in the trust of a loved one, in physical or mental health, in our ability to be transparent or generous or joyful. Suddenly, our options are limited, and we’ve placed a burden on those we care about. We have less freedom and more regret.

Temptation is the threshold to loss. Following Jesus is the threshold to life. 

Following Jesus is an invitation to put others first. It’s an invitation to spend less time looking inward and more time looking up and around. Following Jesus is an invitation to love.

Reflection

Think about a time you gave in to temptation. Did this result in a lack or decrease of something—or the erosion of a relationship with someone? What did you lose? Are you ready to pray to be delivered from anything that directly or indirectly harms, dishonors, or demeans another person?