Are You A Follower Or JUST A Leader?
The twelve disciples of Jesus are a fascinating group of guys. In my reading of the Gospels, there is one thing that stands out about these guys. While they are quite the assortment of personalities and backgrounds, full of human weaknesses like the rest of us, 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 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 did not second guess 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 were hard or didn’t make sense. So when Jesus gave them the ultimate command, “Go into all the world and make disciples,” they didn’t think twice. 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 abandon? Are you willing to leave all for the sake of following him? In reality, that’s what it means to follow Jesus, doesn’t it? Isn’t being a Christian supposed to be about following him?
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. You may or may not have been give leadership ability (few people truly have), but that is neither here nor there. Leaders of other Christians are not as important as Christian “followers” of Jesus. We all follow someone or something. For too many, they follow their own cravings and desires. But being Christian means following Jesus….in everything!
So….are you really a follower of Jesus?