What It Means To Be A Follower of Jesus

I wrote earlier about what a Christian believes. But to be a follower of Jesus is a completely different task. It is not a matter of intellectual assent or understanding the right facts. Rather, to be a follower of Jesus is a lifestyle, a commitment, an undertaking. And it is this that saves one, not whether one believes in this or that creation theory or atonement theory.

Some Christians will disagree with me— heck, MOST of them will dislike at least a portion of my presentation here. This is why I count myself as only nominally a Christian. I’m not a great Christian, because that’s not my goal. My goal is to be a follower of Jesus. And to be a follower of Jesus is, as I understand it, the following:

I am committed to Jesus as my Lord.
This isn’t just a belief, but a living reality by which I shape my life. Jesus is my King and my God, the one whom I obey, the one on whom I rely, the only one who I believe in without question. Jesus uses the Bible, and so do I, but if Jesus says something that a part of the Bible disagrees with, I hold to what Jesus says. Because it is Jesus, not Moses, not David who is my Lord. If society around me holds to something that Jesus disagrees with, then I stand with Jesus, because it is Jesus, not the government, not my friends, not my church who is my Lord.

I trust in the God who is merciful and powerful
The God and Father of Jesus is not an angry God, but a God who is sad that his creatures took the freedom and powers He gave them and squandered them. God wants all people and the rest of creation to live in harmony and justice. This will only be accomplished by God’s unlimited mercy and power, because humanity’s power, although sufficient, is too focused on short term, selfish ends. I also believe that God’s power acts to fulfill the needs of the poor and will help my deepest needs whenever I trust Him enough to cry out to Him.

I believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead due to my sins to create God’s perfect kingdom
I believe Jesus was a utopist. He was all about creating, living in and ruling God’s utopia. And while my sin—and the sins of all of God’s people—drove him to the cross, he did this to create a new people, a new government and a new law. In this new law, my repentance and confession offers me absolution. And I have the opportunity and responsibility to offer that absolution to others who, in Jesus’ kingdom, enact repentance and confession. This new kingdom is based on God’s mercy and power, and so is about changing the whole world to be as merciful, forgiving and assisting to the poor as God is.

Jesus’ power to change the world by the Spirit is in me
I have the power of prayer, which isn’t about words, but about the radical change of reality. The Spirit isn’t ethereal, but changes the world we live in for good. And I, when submitting to Jesus by faith, have the power to enact that power on those who will receive it.
Jesus’ insane morality is my own

Jesus’ life and death is mine to follow by example. As Jesus surrendered his privileged status, loved his enemies, hung out with sinners, gave to the poor, healed the sick, welcomed the outcast, rejected hypocrisy, was a thorn in the side to the religious establishment, accepted persecution, and did whatever crazy thing God told him to do, it is my responsibility that this outline will also describe my own life. This will not necessarily make me popular, and I’m okay with that.

I Expect A Great Life, but Not Yet
I am not living for this life, but for the next one. So my life may be filled with discomfort, rejection, poor health, and poverty for now, but I fully expect God to make this up to me. Because I have sacrificed my life for His, I expect a second chance, granted me by His own power. And in that second chance, Jesus tells me I will rule with Him on earth, in a body like His new body, assisting Him to bring peace, justice and mercy to both earth and heaven.