It is not an easy calling. The pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis affirmed that “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Following Jesus means accepting His authority, learning to live his way. It means being ready to put our life in his hands. It means acknowledging openly that you follow him. It means holding on to the fact that Jesus really is the Son of God who died for us on the Cross and rose again from the dead. And through that process of following him, you will discover that you are far more flawed and lost than you ever dared believe – and yet more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope. It is the job of every Christian church to make clear what it means to follow Jesus. Yet following him begins with something as simple as a prayer like this one below:

God, I am sorry that I have hurt and offended you by my wrong doing. I want to thank you that Jesus loved me so much to die for all the wrong ways I’ve lived and been. I accept your forgiveness and embrace your rescue. I commit myself today to following you as my Rescuer and Lord and ask you to come and live in me by your Spirit.

If you have prayed that prayer tell a Christian friend that you have done so. Then go with them to a church where you can learn the Bible and get to know others who have committed themselves to following Jesus too. It will not always be easy to be a Christian, there may be a great cost to you in being one – but if you do know Jesus, you will discover that knowing him changes everything infinitely for the better.