“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.”
Colossians 2:6 NLT
It’s not a “one-and-done” kind of salvation. Yes, that’s how it starts, by accepting that Jesus alone is “the way, the truth and the life”(John 14:6). He alone made it possible, through His death and resurrection, to have a relationship with God, the Father. He alone forgave your past, present and future sin on that cruel cross at Calvary. What a gift! So great a salvation.
Then, once we have accepted Jesus, why must we need to be reminded to continue to follow Him? It would seem the only right thing to do. After all, we have received so great a gift! Not only for this life but forever! How could we ever repay Him? We can’t. It’s a gift. You don’t repay someone when they give you a gift. That’s why it’s called a gift. Out of humble appreciation, we live out our lives a grateful, obedient follower of Jesus Christ.
In fact, Jesus, Himself, is called the indescribable gift. “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15) And He’s MY gift! I want to show Him how utterly thankful I am for rescuing me from my sin and self by following Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, don’t you?
It seems there are lots of believers walking around, but very few followers. The first is counting on “the Golden ticket to heaven”, but the follower desires to keep in step with the Master so to become “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” (Romans 8:29) There is a huge difference.
