Articles
To Follow Jesus
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“Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. . . . Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:27, 33)
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Jesus spoke these words to "great multitudes" who were following Him (v. 25). In the early days of His ministry, He was surrounded by a large number of sunshine disciples who were enamored with the novelty of His charisma and teaching, but had no intention of committing to real change in their personal lives. Jesus didn't need that kind of followers.
His message, therefore, was a warning. "Bearing the cross" signifies, not discomfort or inconvenience, but real suffering. Is being a disciple of Jesus worth that kind of sacrifice? "Forsaking all" is high price to pay for allegiance. Am I really willing to go that far? Jesus' message was stern, because He deliberately intended to filter out the groupies from the true believers.
Today the situation has not changed much. Vast numbers of people claim to “follow Jesus,” but their discipleship is a mockery of what Jesus wants from them.
People wrap themselves in the mantle of the gospel to support trendy social justice movements that they believe will fix all the problems of modern society. But the emphasis in these movements is almost always on superficial, external behaviors, rather than the heart. Compelling people to "change" by exerting government power is not justice; it's tyranny, and the real underlying problems only get worse.
Others co-opt Jesus in promoting a Scripture-infused pop psychology to address people's emotional problems. It's true that Jesus offers rest for our souls (Matt. 11:29), but His prescription has been watered down into a shallow, feel-good approach to life that bypasses many of the hard decisions He demands of us.
Then there are the celebrities who wear their love for Jesus on their sleeve for all to see, but get drunk on weekends and have no intention of marrying their live-in girlfriends. Jesus is little more than a token in their lives, and His words carry little weight in their lifestyle choices.
Study carefully the teachings of Jesus, and it's obvious that He calls us to a high standard of moral conduct growing out of a transformed way of thinking about God, self, and others. To follow Jesus is to adopt a radical outlook on all of life. In our self-centered, narcissistic culture, truly following Jesus is not just radical, it’s dangerous. It challenges all our assumptions about “the good life,” and rips the mask off our pretentious self-righteousness. Until we understand that, we cannot be His disciple.
It is good that we want to follow Jesus. But before we sign up, we need to ponder His challenge: "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?" (Lk. 6:46). Until we are willing to surrender every detail of our soul, body, and life to Him, we are not ready to follow Him.
--David
