Are You A Follower?

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 her application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and submitted 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. You may or may not have the leadership gift (few people are truly gifted leaders). But that is neither here nor there. What really matters is that all of us have been given the “followship” ability. We all follow someone or something. Who are you following? Is it Jesus, first and foremost?

The twelve disciples of Jesus are a fascinating group of guys. They are one of the most diverse gatherings you could imagine. They landed on opposite sides of politics, personalities, and ideologies. But what stands out to me about these guys is what they all have in common: When Jesus called, they immediately followed.

Without hesitation, they left their homes, their livelihoods, pretty much everything…and followed Jesus. And it didn’t end there. In reading through the Gospels, I don’t find a single instance where Jesus gave them instructions that they did not obey instantly, and mostly 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, the disciples followed through on whatever they were told to do. They were willing to obey Him, even when they didn’t understand His instructions. 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 obey when it came to spreading His message around the world?

Is that how you are? Do you follow Him with unquestioned abandonment?

Too many of us find ways to explain why “God will understand” our disobedience, or we will even claim to have “prayed about it” and “have peace” when clearly violating His Word. But mostly, I don’t think many Christians truly think about what Jesus would have us do in the majority of decisions we make every day.

But that’s what it means to follow Jesus, right?

So…are you really a follower of Jesus?