Following is a very common aspect of life these days. We follow sports, authors, preachers, health experts, house flippers, stores, political figures, scholars, comedians, worship bands, pet fans, bloggers, friends, and the list goes on. Not only do we follow, but some of us may even have followers! The truth of the matter is that when it comes to following in our day there is hardly any effort or sacrifice involved in doing so. In some cases, following involves a few clicks, a few minutes of browsing through our mobile device or in some more extreme cases it involves dedicating a bit of extra time to read or listen to that podcast.
So, how are we doing in our day when it comes to following Jesus?
My wife and I had a chance recently to watch episodes 1 & 2 of The Chosen Season 3 series. It was fantastic, at least from our perspective. We appreciated the fact that the directors of the series made it a point to highlight the sacrifice involved in following Jesus, at least from what they are portraying of the Gospels’ accounts. The episodes really bring out the cost involved in following Jesus. For some, it was prioritizing their new master over their spouse. For others, following represented the forsaking of an existing vocation or career. For others, it meant facing the very same dangers they were seeking to flee from. For someone like Matthew, the tax collector, it meant relating to the people who hated or rejected him—and by the same token those he had in some cases extorted. For all of them, it meant becoming part of a community they would not choose for themselves! And let’s not forget John the Baptist. Preparing the way for Jesus cost him his own head!
So, my head is spinning just thinking about it. Would you agree that most of what we call following Jesus today is couched in a very safe, comfortable, and low-sacrifice manner?
I need to wrestle with this as much as you probably do too.
If anything, this short blog is intended to invite you to reflect on how you would describe your following of Jesus today. Is your following of Jesus guided by attitudes and choices that are safe? Is it guided by comfort? Does comfort tend to set the limits to your faith? Is your following resistant to or void of sacrifices?
May I suggest that if we don’t pay attention to the kind of following we are doing or pursuing, we may end up living a Christianity where our following is nothing else than an attempt to re-design a Savior and Lord who is domesticated? A Savior and Lord according to our image. And perhaps a Savior and Lord we follow not according to a faith that responds to His revelation but more according to our interpretation, desires, and fears.
May God’s Spirit help us rethink our following of Jesus wherever needed! And may we celebrate the places in our lives where by God’s grace we are following Him with self-abandonment and in true faith!
—Diego Cuartas
