Following Jesus

While watching some clips from The Chosen, I was struck with the idea of "following Jesus".

Growing up in the Church, I would often hear the terminology of “Following Jesus”...

• Are you a follower of Jesus?

• Do you follow Jesus?

• I have been a follower of Jesus for….

• Do you want to become a follower of Jesus?

This terminology was often synonymous with being a Christian. Which is to say, if you are a Christian, then you are a follower of Jesus. While I understand this connection, I wonder if these ideas have been conflated resulting in a diminished understanding of them both? 

I fear that when we make these two terms synonymous, we lose an understanding of what it means to actually, like in a real sense, follow Jesus. 

When we think of being a Christian, we often times think of this as an identity (i.e. I am a Christian). When we think of being a follower of Jesus…do we also just think of this as an identity (i.e. I am a follower of Jesus)? Do we forget what it means to be a follower of Jesus by making these ideas synonymous? 

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹ When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰ Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. - Mark 1:16-20

As I was watching these clips, I witnessed the disciples continually following the physical person of Jesus. They went where He went. They met with the people He met with. They followed Him. In a very real sense, they walked behind Him as He walked from place to place. Many times, they were uncertain about where they were even headed…all they knew to do was to follow Him. They understood that being a follower of Jesus was not merely an identity to be had, but also an action to live into. 

I wonder how this could correlate with the lives we are living. While Jesus is not with us physically, He is still very much present. He is still leading us from place to place. Leading us to people. Oftentimes, He doesn’t reveal where we are even headed. We have to follow Him and trust in His leading even when we don’t know the destination. 

What does it look like to walk with Jesus as He is leading us from place to place, from person to person? 

Prayer: Lord, awaken us to the reality of what it means to follow You. Each and everyday. Where are you leading us? To whom are you leading us? Give us the faith to follow You, even when we don’t know the specific destination. Amen.