I Will Follow

If you have been hiding under a rock for the last ten years then permit me to briefly catch you up to speed on how fast our world is communicating. Back in 2004 if one wanted to speak with another human being then one might pick up an ancient and trustworthy device called the telephone and give someone a call. In current day 2014 however, if one would like to talk with someone else then you most likely will text, Facebook. tweet, Skype, or perhaps even Instagram the person you would like to get in contact with (oh and you might call them as well if you really want to hear their voice). It is fascinating the leaps and bounds technology has permitted us to experience when closing the gap in communication. I'm not down on technology. In fact, I love gadgets and electronics. It appears the more technology and social media we have access to, the less and less we actually talk to one another, and the quality of our relationships seems to go down. Anyway, that can be another topic for another post.

Within Twitter and Instagram in particular, one has an account where you generate content (pictures or witty thoughts) for other users to interact with. If the content you are creating is of enough value to other users then those users can "follow" you so whenever you post something it will show up in their home feed for them to enjoy. Currently on Twitter I have 239 followers, on Instagram 112, and on this blog there are 5 followers that I am aware of. The effort it takes to click the "follow" button is minimal but the effort it takes to consistently monitor and keep up with others on social media can take a lot more effort.Consider now your relationship with Jesus Christ. In a similar sense it doesn't take much effort on our part to "click the follow button" to follow Jesus, but living our lives in a manner in which it is evident to others that we are following Jesus does take a lot more effort. If I were to string this out even further, then the effort it takes to interact with the content Jesus has already given us is probably the hardest. Content such as, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who despitefully use you." Um, WHAT?! That is content I really am not comfortable with so I think I'll check out. Or another example would be, "Go ahead, step outside of the boat and keep your eyes on me" (paraphrase). Personally staying inside the boat is much more comfortable, but thanks all the same. But if I never get out of the boat, what does that say about my faith?

Since the last time I posted an opportunity to "step outside of the boat and follow" Jesus has presented itself. It's radical enough to include leaving my family and traveling to another country (the UK for those who were wondering). I really don't know where this opportunity will lead but I'm confident this is Jesus telling me to get out of the boat. It's like that in our walk with Him. Jesus doesn't usually tell us what will happen when we get out of the boat, which is usually what paralyzes most, me included, from doing just that. But what if I sink? What if I can't make it to Jesus? Would God let me down? These and other questions hold us back from getting out of the boat. Then again I shouldn't have to have all the answers in order to follow Jesus anyway. If I can only follow when I know where Jesus is going, then I daresay I'm not really following; I'm trying to lead, and my faith doesn't work like that. 

In using this example from my own life I'm not trying to glorify myself. Rather my intent is to illustrate the effort it takes to follow Jesus, even if it means discomfort and uncertainty. Leaving my family behind is hard, paying for this trip is difficult, but if it means I'm following Jesus, then my simple heart response is whatever it takes, I will follow. In what ways are you choosing to follow Jesus?