When I was younger, I loved to deer hunt. As an ethical hunter, I always wanted my shots to be perfect and the death of the deer to be instant. However, the deer did not always fall in their tracks. Sometimes they ran. When they ran, it was my responsibility to follow them.

Tracking a deer requires a certain amount of skill. You learn to look for leaves that have been dug up by stumbling hooves and tufts of hair wedged in tree bark. However, most of all you look for a blood trail. Sometimes the trail is like blood being poured out of a bucket. Other times you find a tiny drop of blood on a leaf and it will be several yards before you find another. But you will keep looking because you are a deer hunter, not just a shooter.

It’s not easy to track a wounded deer. The trail may lead through briars and thickets. Sometimes you have to cross cold creeks and deep ditches. But you shot the deer and you owe it to him to complete the harvest you started. You must be determined to follow the deer no matter where it leads you.

There is something more important than deer hunting. You must become a follower of Jesus. Salvation is not easy, but it is not complicated either. Jesus simply holds out His hand to you and says, “Follow Me.” Following The Savior is hard. It can and often does lead to danger and discomfort. But you must be determined to follow Him without turning back.

How do you follow Jesus? As I said, following Him is hard, but it is simple. Read your Bible and pray. He will speak to you, so take the time to listen for His still small voice. Surround yourself with others who love and follow Him. Most of all understand that you were saved by the blood that Jesus spilled on the Cross. You owe it to Him to follow His blood trail no matter where it leads you.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com