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-====== Following Whom and Why? ... ======
+====== The driving force ... ======
-Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018.
+Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018. What is the driving force in my life? What is it that I would
+say: that is important for me? What is it that is the backbone of my days and my activity?
+What is holding me upright? What is attracting me? What is giving me self confidence?
+What is it I am following? What is it I am searching?
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 ** Matthew, Come! ... **
+It is a good question to think about the points which make me really happy. What is it
+that I could say about: that fills my life? That gives me purpose? Is there anything
+like that? Or perhaps there are several things? Perhaps I like good wine, good political
+discussions, and to be secure and save? Or I like to be successful and full of energy,
+a driving force myself? Or I am myself when I am free and not depending on anyone?
+When we look into the New Testament, we find some passages which touch this quite
+central question. Whom am I following. In the Gospel of Matthew we suddenly run
+into the following remark:
+<color #aa0000>
+As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
+</color> (Matthew 9, 9)
+You should look up the passage - this request of Jesus to follow is not directly linked to the
+parts given before. It seems to come out of nowhere! That is an important question, we should ask
+here: what is the framework for getting to know God? When is it we are prepared to follow Jesus?
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 ** Why and How? ...**
+Why would you follow Jesus at all? Why would you follow anyone? Sometimes it seems to us that
+following individual people on this earth only happens in circumstances of abuse! And it is
+a good point, a sincere warning. You should have good reasons to follow any particular person
+on this planet!
+But there is also the other question. What is it that keeps you from following Jesus? Today it
+is clear that he is not any more someone who could abuse you. He died 2000 years ago, and if you
+follow him, if it is true you follow the risen Lord. In the worst case you follow an illusion.
+So the point I am heading for here is: you should have good reasons to follow Jesus. You should
+be clearly aware of why you want to follow him. If it has become clear to you, that he is more
+than a gifted speaker who lived long ago, you have started to explore good reasons. Yet, it still
+needs to be very clear to you: he is the one who I want to be with.
+How do you follow him today? To a good extent it is easier than for Matthew: you can stay in
+your profession and in your job, at least that applies to most of us. But on the spiritual side,
+it is quite similar. It is about discovering that only God can be the foundation of our life,
+that only his beauty and purity, his mercy and love, his truth and clarity, are a good basis
+for our decisions, for our heart, for our own love, for our presence and future. Only in him,
+in his power and foregiveness, we have a source for cleaning up our own life!
+How to follow? It starts with your personal prayer. It is something between you and God. You
+have to tell him. You have to talk to him, and to listen to him. It is you and you alone. And of
+course, there is community - the community of believers, the Christian church. There are
+brothers and sisters in faith, so many of them, very different individuals. God will show you
+some you can link up with, I am sure!
 (Roland Potthast)
 [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/topics_collection_ix|... further texts]]