How do we do that? What does it mean to walk as Jesus did? We can't literally adopt the lifestyle of first-century Jesus, who never married and had children, who did not own a home, who had nowhere to lay his head, and who walked from one place to another on a preaching mission. Yet in every generation there are preachers who challenge their contemporaries to live more closely to the ideal of Jesus. To what degree can we seek to embody his teachings?

At the end of the 19th century Charles Sheldon wrote his bestseller, In His Steps to encourage people to ask the question, "What Would Jesus Do?" in every situation. It was provoked by the question of a man seeking work: "The minister said, that it is necessary for the disciple of Jesus to follow his steps, and he said that the steps are 'obedience, faith, love and imitation.' But I did not hear him tell you just what he meant that to mean, especially the last step. What do you Christians mean by following the steps of Jesus?" Sheldon answered that question in terms of the needs of his day.

Thomas A Kempis in his Imitation of Christ encouraged the cultivation of the interior life and withdrawal from the temptations of the world. Many other devotional books emphasize the value of an ascetic form of Christianity, emphasizing sacrificial self-denial and self-discipline but that can lead to legalism.

Today there are other calls to radical obedience. David Platt's books which have sold over a million copies since 2010, Radical, Radical Together, and Follow Me challenge us about the depth of our commitment to Christ. A reviewer commented, "It's really hard to read these books, one after another, and confidently declare yourself a Christian at the end." (Matthew Lee Anderson, Christianity Today, March 2013) Platt calls for a radical faith in a radical Jesus which has two preconditions: We must "commit to believe whatever Jesus says" and "commit to obey what we have heard." He is critical of contemporary American middle class Christianity, even saying of churches in his city: "Birmingham Christianity falls short of biblical Christianity."

Is that not being presumptuous? Jesus didn't call everyone to leave their businesses and literally follow him to preach the Gospel. Not everyone is called to go to another culture as a missionary. Most of us have to go to work every day and provide employment for others by being successful in our vocations. It is significant that none of these books are written by wives who have to take care of home and family as well as bring home the bacon in their own careers today. If everybody did what these writers counsel there would be no money to support their ministries and missionary work.

The Lausanne Covenant of 1974 called on Christians to simplify their lifestyle. "Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple lifestyle in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism." However, Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, found the espousal of a simple lifestyle too confining. "If it said 'simpler', she explained to John [Stott], "I would sign it, But what is 'simple'? You live in two rooms. I have a bigger home. You have no children. I have five. You say that your life is simple and mine isn't." (Inside Story, Roger Steer, IVP, 2009, p.163) Not everyone is called to be a spiritual gold medal athlete.

How do we seek to obey Christ and love one another without falling into judging one another, self-righteousness, and unattractive asceticism? How do you balance a comfortable lifestyle for yourself and your family which you have worked hard for, an appreciation of the good things of life, and the call to radical sacrifice for the needs of the world? How would Jesus walk in our shoes, as he has made us and given us life in all its fullness?

First of all, we need to know the commands of Jesus for ourselves. That means reading and studying the words of Jesus in the Gospels. We need to familiarize ourselves with the whole teaching of Jesus. I have been reading the Gospels for most of my life and yet I find new understanding and new truths every time I read them. There is no substitute for reading and meditating on the words of Jesus. If we really want to obey the commands of Jesus we will be searching His Word each day for His direction. We will saturate our minds with His Word.

Secondly, we need to realize that the commands of Jesus are not meant to be onerous. They are not meant to prevent us from experiencing joy and personal fulfillment. "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer" (1 Timothy 4:5). The commands of Jesus are meant to promote love and mutual health and happiness. They are for our good and the good of our community. Jesus knows of what we are capable and doesn't expect the impossible.

Thirdly, we need to pray for guidance as to the application of those commands to our lives. What is Jesus saying to us through them? As we read we need to be praying that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us their application for our lives. That application will vary between individuals. Not all are called to be missionaries and martyrs. Most are called to be faithful in pedestrian occupations that get no publicity. Not everyone is temperamentally qualified and gifted for medical, educational or humanitarian work. Not everyone can leave home and their responsibilities easily. Sometimes we have to accept the less glamorous work that we have been called to do in our community day in and day out providing for our families. We have to learn how to obey Jesus in that environment, just as he did when he was the local carpenter in the family business. We need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to interpret what Jesus is saying to us. Some commandments are more applicable to us at the present moment than others. In reading John 13 recently I was convicted of my need to serve others, as Jesus did his disciples when he washed their feet. Jesus said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:14-17).

Fourthly, we can let Jesus walk in our shoes. G.K. Chesterton said, "The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." We do have a choice in our daily lives: to follow Christ or to deny Christ. "If anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him." If we want God's love to be made complete in us we will follow what we understand Jesus' direction is for us in the present. Then we will discover that we obey, not reluctantly, but out of love. "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).

(Ted's blog is found at www.tedschroder.com His books are found on www.amazon.com. SOUL FOOD: DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR THE HUNGRY, Vol.4, October, November and December is available to pre-order.)