Over the next few weeks, we're going to go through a series getting back to the BASICS. Sometimes, it's easy for us to lose sight of the basic principles in following Christ. The call to follow & imitate Christ is very simple - but executing & living it is totally different. So we're going to break things down & get our minds & heart back to the basics of following Jesus.
Week TWO: Follow Jesus. In all honesty, how would you describe yourself? As a FOLLOWER of Jesus? Or more as a FAN of Jesus?
There's a HUGE difference in those two words & the meaning they have. A fan is simply someone who buys a ticket, shows up, cheers & spectates. A fan likes the concepts, likes the teachings, likes the benefits that come with Jesus; but doesn't like to live them out. Unfortunately, I think most Christians end up being fans of Jesus. They love Jesus & all He has to offer, but really don't care to live His teachings & commandments out in their everyday life.
Yet why do so many Christians believe they can be followers & not live like Jesus? How can we honestly believe we can be Christians & look nothing like Him?
For example, say a parent tells his child to go clean his room. Now the child doesn't go clean his room, but he instead memorized every thing his parent told him. He even recited it back to him. And then he gathered with his friends every week to talk about doing what their parents told them to do. Wouldn't fly, would it??
So how come we try to do the same exact thing to Jesus? He has called us to follow Him, but we've resorted to memorization, meditation & even weekly gatherings with NO action. Jesus tells us it doesn't work that way. In Luke 6:46, Jesus asks us why we even bother to call Him our Lord when our lives look nothing like Him? Live nothing like Him? Just living life as a fan?
So what separates a fan from a follower? IMITATION. A follower is one who plays follow the leader & imitates every single thing the leader does. And to be a true follower of Jesus Christ, we must imitate Him. Very simple. Ephesians 5:1 calls us to be imitators of God. It's very hard to get around that word. Very hard to escape that command. To follow Jesus, we must IMITATE Him.
Are you a follower of Jesus? Or just a fan?
Imitate Jesus.
JV
