Will You Follow Jesus?

Are you a follower of Jesus? That seemed like an easy question, one that required very little thought, until my sense of certainty was challenged while reading a book called Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. He asks, "With eternity looming in the balance, isn't it worth considering this question a little more carefully?" In Luke 9:23 Jesus says to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be a follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me." I began to wonder what that really means. In his book, the author describes the type of relationship Jesus is calling us to have with Him-one in which knowing about Him isn't the same as knowing Him. For example, just as a sports fan would know all of the stats and interests of their favorite player, we often justify our status as a follower of Christ by what we know about Him. We point to the scriptures hanging on our walls or the bumper stickers on our cars or our ability to recite the books of the Bible as our proof that we are in fact a follower. Jesus is calling us to more than that. He wants us to know Him in a way that David describes in Psalm 139: "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord." I had a moment of realization here. I realized that all of my attempts to learn about Christ are empty unless I am also willing to intimately know Him. This means being willing to see the world and the people in my world through His eyes. This means making Jesus a part of all of my moments, not just the big decisions. This means turning to Him for more than a consultation before I proceed with the plan that I have already decided I will be pursuing. It means knowing Him in the way a husband knows his wife and loving Him enough to share all of my life with Him. The author goes on to ask what place Jesus gets in your heart. Is He the only One or is He one of many? This was difficult for me to digest initially. There are many important things in my life: I'm a mom and my daughter is incredibly important to me. I'm a banker and I take pride in being able to help people improve their financial situation and their quality of life. I'm a friend and I enjoy spending time building relationships with those closest to me. How could Jesus not want these things for my life? Then the book throws out some really simple questions. For what do you sacrifice your money? When you're hurt where do you go for comfort? What disappoints or frustrates you the most? What is it that really gets you excited? If Jesus is the top priority in my life, shouldn't He be the answer to at least one of these questions? It's worth pursuing and evaluating that while Jesus absolutely wants relationships, joy and satisfaction in our lives, He also wants to be important enough to us that we would be willing to sacrifice it all in order to have Him. Finally, the book points out that to truly call yourself a follower of Jesus you have to be willing to follow Him: whenever, wherever, for whatever. This means He wants a relationship with me when He calls me, and often this is not when my daughter's grown, when my job slows down, or when I've taken that vacation I've always wanted. It's often now, here, in the middle of a storm, while I'm still full of pride and impatience. His timing is perfect and He wants me to follow now. I must also be willing to go wherever He calls me. At this point, many people may think of foreign soil, but I think of what scares me the most. I think of Jesus calling me to act here in my own neighborhood where I run the risk of my friends, family or co-workers thinking I'm crazy. I think of my next door neighbor or my next customer. I think of the people in my life who I love and those who are acquaintances and consider: If Jesus calls me there, will I go? This leads to the last question. Will I follow Jesus whatever the cost? Will I follow Him if it means I lose friendships? What about the comfort of my home or even my job? Will I follow Him if the people in my life think I'm too radical or religious? In 1 Kings 19, God is calling Elisha to replace Elijah as His prophet. Elisha responds by slaughtering his oxen and burning his plows. I admire his actions because in doing that he is making a statement that he won't be returning to his former life. Rather he will be following God with no back-up plan. God wants our love and our trust and that means following Him no matter what we might have to give up doing so. In order to answer the initial question, "Am I a follower of Jesus?" I must ask myself, "Will I follow Jesus whenever, wherever, and whatever the cost?" Will you? -Nycole Tomich