Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mt 16:24“Follow you? That’s impossible. I can’t do it!”
On 20 October 1944 the leading elements of the 3d Battalion, 34th Infantry—one of the units of the U.S. Army's 24th Division—hit the Philippine island of Leyte on a beach defended by Japanese soldiers occupying a number of large, well-camouflaged pillboxes. The objective was simple: establish a beachhead in order to take the Philippines and break a vital supply line of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The soldiers hit the beach and almost immediately they found themselves pinned down by heavy machine gun and rifle fire. The beach landing stalled. Casualties began to mount.
To save his men, Regimental Commander Colonel Aubrey S. Newman rose in the midst of the battle and shouted, “Follow me!” And his men did. They swept forward against the Japanese defenders and crushed them. They took the beach and altered the course of the war.
When I first became a Christian, following Christ seemed easy. I read the Bible and went to church. I prayed every day and tried my best to live a good life. And it felt good. Life was easy. But when the honeymoon ended I began to backslide, and for thirty years I walked around half-blind, seeking whatever I pleased and claiming to be a Christian. I learned to frown. I grew a stiff neck. My heart turned cold to God.
But one day while searching His Word, seeking answers to why my life had grown so meaningless, God spoke to me.
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
“Follow you?” I cried. “I can’t!”
“You must.”
“But, Lord, you don’t understand. I’ve tried to follow you. I can’t keep up with you!”
“That’s because you’re carrying too heavy a load,” I heard Him say. “Drop everything. Follow me.”
When Colonel Newman’s men hit Red Beach that hot October day they left their families and their worldly possessions behind. They left behind their problems, dropped everything they owned, and picked up their weapons. Then they followed their commanding officer into battle, and the beachhead was won.
The Battle of Leyte raged for seventy-seven more days. American forces suffered a total of 15,584 casualties, of which 3,504 were killed in action. Colonel Newman was critically injured, but in the end his victory on that hot Red Beach proved to be a turning point in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The United States obtained an important foothold in the Philippines, and a vital artery of the Imperial Japanese Naval forces was severed.
To follow Jesus Christ means to live a life of obedience. To put on the full armor of God every day, and then like Colonel Newman’s soldiers, to stand up and follow your commanding officer into battle.
Jesus said, “Follow me.”
He gave a direct order. Will you obey Him? Drop what you are doing today. Take up your cross and follow Him into battle. Victory is assured, for Christ has already won.
