Many people see themselves as followers of Jesus Christ. By this they mean they believe the facts about Jesus as they have heard them. They may have gone forward at an event, believed enough to say a prayer of commitment to Him, and have tried to obey what they have chosen as His commands to obey. For many of these the motivation is to avoid hell as punishment and to be received into heaven when they die.

In the meantime, they attend enough religious services and events to (hopefully) be pleasing enough to their God as they understand Him. They try to find a balance between living for their goals and purposes while doing enough of the religious requirements to satisfy God’s purposes as they see them. For most, life is their own to live, with parts of it given back to God at times.

There are variations on this theme of being a follower, such as the liturgical variations that often feature religious rites and religious traditions. Or the fundamental variation with its emphasis on trying harder to obey, strict rules that guide most of one’s living, and the threat of excommunication if one messes up. There are other variations, such as the Pentecostal/charismatic, the evangelical, the community/Bible, the lone ranger, the cool band and coffee bar church, and many more.

The Gospel of the Kingdom has nothing to say related in support of these “follower” variations. In the Gospel of the Kingdom the issues are these: has the person surrendered all their living to Christ Jesus as a living sacrifice? Is the person seeking to live not at all their own life but to be continually indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ to the point of total self-denial? Is the person completely given over to loving Him above all other loves?

Christ did not call any to “follow Him” by emulating Him, agreeing with Him, supporting Him, or being busy for Him. He is not calling people to be followers. He only calls all to be disciples, to be crucified to the world and dead all self living. To “follow Him” is to live only by His life in place of one’s own. This requires that one lets go (loses) one’s own one’s own life and will so completely, loses one own living so unreservedly that death by crucifixion is the closest analogy.

This is how Jesus describes one who is His true disciple: “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,  and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’” (See these words in context in Matthew 7 and 10, John 12, and Luke 9 and 14)

Are you seeking to be fully indwelt? Or are you content to be simply a follower? Christ Jesus endorses only one of these options.

Banner image via Pixabay.