If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor (John 12:26 NKJV)
This is one of the hymns that all Christians must know and sing to help them keep their declaration and dedication to Christ. It’s not only knowing or singing the hymns that matters, let’s go a step forward by looking at the story behind this hymn.
Sometimes, in the middle of the 19th century, an American Baptist missionary from Wales went to Assam in northeast India to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the village, Garo, a man named Nokseng and his family gave their lives to Christ but this did not go well with the chief of the village, so he requested this man, his wife and the two sons in the presence of the villagers.
The chief gave them two options, either to renounce their faith in Jesus and live or adhere to their faith and be killed. The man responded, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. In his anger, the chief ordered the two sons be shot. The chief said to Nokseng, you just lost your two sons, will you renounce your faith to spare your life and that of your wife. he asked? Surprisingly, Nokseng replied, “though none go with me, still I will follow Jesus, no turning back”. With no hesitation, the chief ordered his wife to be shot as well. Looking at his wife and sons’ bodies lying lifeless before him, the Chief said to Nokseng, if you fail to renounce Jesus now, you will die. The spirit-filled man, Nokseng affirmed and said, “the cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back. He was shot and died there.
There was an unimaginable unrest in the spirit of this chief, who wondered why this man and his family chose to die for a man who lived about 2,000 years ago. He was deeply touched and said within himself, there is something that this family experienced or saw in Jesus that made them declare Him even at the point of death. The chief openly declared his faith in Jesus Christ. The people of the village did exactly what their chief did, and they all declared their faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The last words of Nokseng later used to compose the popular hymn, I have decided to follow Jesus by Sadhu Sundar Singh.
Dear readers, have you decided to follow Jesus irrespective of any circumstances? If you have not, please do that this very minute. May the Lord bless you, Amen
Source: Lucinda J.K, 2020. The Last Words of Nokseng: The Story Behind “I Have Decided”.
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