Are You a Follower or JUST a Leader?

    The twelve disciples of Jesus are a fascinating group of guys. We’ll do a study some day on the character and accomplishments of this rag-tag group of diverse men who were chosen by Jesus to turn the world up-side down. But in my Bible reading this morning, there is one thing that stood out to me about these guys. While they are quite the assortment of personalities and backgrounds, there appears to be one characteristic that brought them all together.
    When Jesus called, they immediately responded.
    “Follow me,” Jesus said to each of them, and immediately they left their places, their livelihood, pretty much everything, and followed him. It didn’t end there. I briefly went through the Gospels this morning and did not find a single instance where Jesus gave them instructions when they did not follow Him immediately, and almost without question (they wondered why a few times but rarely second guessed Him). So while they didn’t always “get it” with His parables and some of his hyperboles and similes, they followed through on whatever they were told to do, and they were willing to obey Him, even when his instructions didn’t make sense to them. So when Jesus gave them the ultimate command, “Go into all the world and make disciples,” they didn’t think twice about it. They had obeyed Him every time before this and it always worked out. So why not with the Great Commission?
    Is that how you are? Do you follow Him with unquestioned abandonment? Are you willing to leave all for the sake of following Him?
    I don’t think that most people who call themselves Christians really are willing to follow Him like that. They find ways to explain away why “God will understand” their disobedience, or they will claim they “prayed about it” and “have peace.” But mostly, I don’t think many Christians think much about what Jesus would have them do in the vast majority of decisions they make every day. Do we give a thought as to whether or not Jesus would want us to criticize someone, ignore another person with needs we could help alleviate, speak harshly to a spouse or child? Do we sincerely go to God and ask Him for guidance with movies we watch, places we go, things we do, people we hang out with? When struggling with issues in life (relationships, finances), while we may pray for God to intervene, do we ask Him for what He wants us to do about it, and do we listen to what He says?
    In reality, that’s what it means to follow Jesus, doesn’t it? Isn’t being a Christian supposed to be about following him?
    In his book “None of These Diseases,” S. I. McMillen tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."
    When it comes to living the Christian life, being a leader is fine, if you are first a good follower of Jesus Christ. You may or may not have been give leadership ability (few people are truly gifted leaders). But that is neither here nor there. What really matters is that all of us have been give “followship” ability. We all follow someone or something. For too many, they follow their own cravings and desires. But being a Christians means following Jesus….in everything!
    So….are you a follower of Jesus?