Follow Me

By Nikita Poposki

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

In today’s ever changing, ever-shrinking world we struggle to find meaning in our lives and especially struggle to find our faith. It seems as though it has become evermore difficult to pray and put forth our faith for the world to see. However, it does not have to be this way. We, as Orthodox Christians, have to put our faith and trust in God and allow Him to lead us.

“Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe in me also. (…) Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of my works themselves. (John 14:1 – 11)

Let us have faith; let us not be troubled “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37), and this is the mentality that we should take as we follow Christ throughout our journeys. Through prayer we strengthen our faith and our relationship with God and our hearts may be lifted up and our souls may become full with the Holy Spirit. With strong faith and through prayer we may do great things.

Our faith is one that opens the doors for all, which loves all and prays for all. It is a faith of action, which seeks to bring people closer to the Truth. It is a faith that changes our lives as well as the lives of others. It is a faith that brings us in contact with God and fills us with the Holy Spirit that will lead and guide us. It is a faith that creates and endures.

As Orthodox Christians we have certain duties that we must accomplish throughout our lives. We have the duty to pray, to love, to believe in God, to have enduring faith and to bring others as well as ourselves closer to Christ. Should we fail to accomplish and fulfill these duties then we have failed in our lives. We must accept Christ into our hearts and accept the Church in our lives. The Church will guide us through Him and teach us. It will give us the ability to grow in faith and knowledge through God’s everlasting Love. It will teach us to live according to the commandments, to help others and to suppress the hunger of the spiritually hungry. It will teach us to love and to aid through open hearts and minds.

We must make a decision to follow Him and establish a place where we may pray and worship, where we can be united with Christ. It is our decision to find and strengthen our faith because only strong faith will lead to intelligence and knowledge of Truth. It is our decision to fulfill our duties and become leaders. It is our decision to become “fishers of men.”