Are You Following Jesus, or Just Following Him Around?

 By Jane Oliver

      Liaison Coordinator

  

“Are you following Jesus or just ‘following him around?’”  I was recently challenged by this question posed by Pastor Steve Wiggins on the KLOVE Cruise back in January.  My initial reaction was, “Ouch!”  It is a question that has stuck with me, and one that I have pondered over and over since. 

The Greek word for follow is akoloutheo which has more than one meaning.  It can mean to follow after or accompany; also, to follow faithfully, or to conform oneself to, to fully know, have understanding, or to accompany and assist.   In the Gospels, the word follow is used 76 times.  14 of those times are in reference to the crowds that followed Jesus around during his earthly ministry.  The other 62 times the word follow refers to when Jesus called people to be His disciples.  Based on this information, which definition of follow do you think was most important to Jesus?

You see, the people in the crowds who “followed Jesus around” were fans or admirers of Jesus—people who wanted to see and be near the man everyone was talking about—in the same way someone might admire and enjoy watching Tom Brady of the New England Patriots play football for his quarterback skills. Tom Brady fans may follow his career, or attend football games he plays in, but they are not participating in the game with him or emulating his character or skills, and they don’t know him personally.

So what is the life-altering difference between “following Jesus” as one might follow a celebrity on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or attend an event where they will perform, and “following Jesus” as His disciple?  When Jesus calls us to follow Him, He isn’t just asking us to tag along.  Jesus doesn’t want us to just believe in Him from a distance.  He invites us to come close--to be fully engaged with Him; to abide in Him by both learning about Him through His Word, and living that out by doing the work of the Gospel.   He changes us from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit and produces fruit in us.  In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”  Dictionary.com defines a “disciple” as a person who is a pupil, one who believes and gets others to believe the doctrines of another, one who embraces and assists in spreading the teaching of another.  We are called upon to be disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus. 

The most important distinction between “following Jesus” as His disciple and “following Jesus around” is whether or not we have put our faith in Christ and made him Lord of our lives.  1 Peter 3:15 reminds us, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  At Care Net, the heartbeat of our ministry is to offer our clients hope through sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ so “that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” (John 10:10).  Henry Blackaby once said, “Watch to see where God is working, and join him in His work.”  Won’t you consider following Jesus to Care Net to join Him in His work here?