What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?

In our culture today, we make it seem like following Jesus is so simple and requires nothing from us. We water things down so people are willing to slip a hand up in a dark room, say a prayer with a group of people, and then walk quietly out the door so as to not risk anyone knowing the decision they just made. This is not what it means to follow Jesus. We are going to start with the basics of being a Christian.

I hope nobody sees me, this is just between God and me.

Being a follower of Christ is about living our lives out loud, in front of everyone to bring glory to our Lord. The world will know that we are HIS, it is not a secret. In fact Jesus says, “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33 -ERV) Ouch! So we have many people walking around claiming to follow Christ that do not know Him, they only know about Him.

John 3:16-17 is the most quoted verse when it comes to leading someone to Christ. These verses say, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.”

We read this and teach this means it is simple to follow Jesus. I get the promise of eternal life and all I have to is believe! Great! Sign me up!

Wait a minute, hold on. Let’s look at this verse closer and see what it is really saying to us. In this verse we see that the verse is all about what God is going to do. These verses tell us:

God loves us so much
He sent His one and only Son to die for us (for you and for me!–can you imagine how hard that would be to let your only child die for someone who is hurting you by their choices?)
God wants you to live with Him for all of time!
Jesus was sent to bring hope, not condemnation to the world.
He desires a relationship with you and has made the ultimate sacrifice to make that possible.

Walking with Jesus is all about what God has done! It is not about you or me! He did all the heavy lifting and simply ask us to believe. Simple.

Wait a minute–is that all? NO! It is just the beginning of a life lived for Christ, but it begins by saying yes to Jesus. This part is paid for and all we have to do is receive. Receiving it requires something from us. Free does not mean nothing is requires. We recently got a free dog that has cost us plenty in vet bills. There is action required. (We will get into this next time)