“When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore” (Mark 5:21).
People have always been curious about Jesus. Many gather each Sunday with congregations around the world. Being a seeker and being a follower are two different things. Jesus will make of us children of the Heavenly Father if we will enter the narrow path of salvation. More than just listening to the words of Jesus, it is realizing that Jesus abides in us as we abide in Him. He is and will be the author of our new lives.
Lord, like many throughout the ages, I have come, listened to the words, and gathered with others. You know where I have drawn lines hidden from others that keep me from walking farther along the narrow path of salvation. Remove those barriers that I may humbly continue in whatever direction You take me. Guide me, Jesus, so that I may humbly submit to You as my Lord and Savior.
Lord Jesus, in this world filled with darkness and deception, help me to see the clear light that You shine for all to see. Guide me in the way of everlasting life and help me so that I do not just gather with others but humbly submit to You. You are the author and finisher of my faith. Lead me in the way of everlasting life and allow nothing to get in the way of the path You have set before me. Amen.
This Sunday, we light the candle of JOY on the Advent Wreath. Jesus is our Joy as he gives us hope, peace, love, and our salvation.
Our JOY is complete in Him who does lead and guide us to everlasting life.
Thank you for this post.
Thank you for this sincere reflection. The desire to move beyond mere curiosity toward a life shaped by Christ is something all Christians can appreciate. At the same time, from an Lutheran perspective, it is important to be careful how we speak about salvation and the Christian life, lest the Gospel sound like a demand rather than a promise.
Scripture teaches that our salvation does not rest on our ability to enter, discern, or remain on a “narrow path,” but on Christ Himself, who is the Way (John 14:6). Faith is not something we achieve by insight, surrender, or spiritual progress, but a gift created and sustained by the Holy Spirit through the Word and the Sacraments (Ephesians 2:8–9; Small Catechism, Third Article).
This is especially clear when we consider infant baptism. Infants cannot seek, choose, discern barriers, or humbly submit in the way adults might describe. Yet they are truly given saving faith because salvation is God’s work from beginning to end. That same divine action remains the foundation of faith throughout the Christian life.
Following Jesus, then, is not the condition for salvation but the fruit of it. The Christian life flows from the assurance that Christ has already claimed us as His own. When exhortation is separated from that assurance, it can unintentionally sound like a warning that something essential depends on our performance, rather than a joyful response to what Christ has already done.
The comfort of the Gospel is that Christ abides in us not because we have removed every hidden barrier, but because He has bound Himself to us in Baptism and continues to come to us in His Word and Supper. Even when our faith is weak and our obedience incomplete, His promise remains sure.
For that reason, Lutheran theology always strives to let God’s promise speak first and last, so that the Christian life is lived not in anxiety or self-measurement, but in confidence, gratitude, and trust in Christ alone.