Follow the Leader

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday of Easter BCP 225)

Follow the Leader is one of those really easy children's games we have all played. It takes no equipment, just the children themselves and their imagination. Everyone gets behind the designated leader and follows them around mimicking what they do. If you mess up, you have to sit out for a while until someone wins and the games starts all over again. It may sound like a silly game, but it teaches children some important motor and life skills. Even as adults, we all have days we need to follow a leader.

Whether at work or at home or at the gym, there are situations we all face in which we need to follow someone's lead. Being a follower isn't always easy. If you don't trust the leader, questioning and rebellion can take over. When we get in the habit of not following anyone else's lead, we fall into the trap of thinking we always know what is best. In the prayer for this coming Sunday, we pray that we can follow Jesus' lead in our lives. 

For many of us, following Jesus' lead is really difficult. We may think this only applies to our spiritual lives, but that is simply not true. God's call on our lives involves our whole lives, which means we need to follow Jesus' lead in every area of our lives. Honestly, sometimes when I think I am following Jesus' lead in my life, it can feel like following a child in a game of Follow the Leader. It doesn't always make sense to me, but with trust in Jesus, I know I am going in the right direction. As we pray this Sunday's prayer together, let us examine who we are following, whether it is Jesus or ourselves.