Following Jesus

In June of last year, the American singer and songwriter Katy Perry became the first person to have over 100 million “followers” on Twitter. Of course, being a follower today is quite a bit less demanding than following someone like Jesus in the 1st century. For Perry’s fans, “following” her need mean no more than clicking a button inside of Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

It is unlikely any will have to make substantial sacrifices to secure the privilege of keeping up with their favorite artist on social media. This is not the level of commitment Jesus had in mind when he advised would-be followers that they must be willing to “take up the cross” and “… to lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel.” (Mark 8:35)

Early Christians were known as “followers of the Way.” They understood that Jesus’ way of life was all-encompassing. It affected how they saw the world, how they understood their relationship to temporal authority and to society, how they lived their lives personally, and how they interacted with and treated others. Though they lived in the 1st century while we live in the 21st, the demands of following Jesus remain the same.

• As followers of Jesus, we believe creation and everything in it belongs to God. Therefore we exercise faithful stewardship on God’s behalf rather than exploiting resources and situations for our own enrichment.
• As followers of Jesus, we, like Peter and the apostles before us, say: “We must obey God rather than any human authority” whenever our society or its leaders conflict with Jesus’ teachings. (Acts 5:29)
• As followers of Jesus, our lives are a gift from God. Therefore we live for God and for others, rather than merely to pursue our own happiness or betterment. “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:7-8)
• As followers of Jesus, we treat others the way we wished to be treated. We extend the grace to others that we know we need for ourselves.

Yes, there’s quite a bit more to following Jesus than merely to “like” him or express interest in his teachings and life.