Basic: Follow Jesus

Two Sundays ago, I started going through a video study called the Basic Series. We had discussed about what it meant to fear God, and I like how we concluded on it (you can read that from my previous post on the video, "Fear God"). Last Sunday, we watched the video, "Follow Jesus", which is video #2 in this series.


So, what does it truly mean to follow Jesus? We know the textbook answer, yet as part of western society, we just can't seem to really put it into practice. Perhaps how we initially thought about it has been distorted from what it actually should be.

"Just like how we can distort the concept of fearing God, we can distort the concept of following Jesus." - Frances Chan

What kind of distortion, you may ask? It seems like the Church in western society had made it as that when it comes to following Jesus, it's more of something that is done "in our hearts" so to speak. But I'm finding that this is not what Jesus wants. He doesn't want fans, he wants followers who are willing to sacrifice everything to be with him, Jesus, who died in our place so that the penalty of sin has been paid on our behalf. This is what I want to really be. I want to be so crazy about Jesus that his love overflows into everything I do. Think about Matthew 4:18-20, when Jesus called Peter and Andrew; he called out to them and said to follow him.

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish or people." At once, they left their nets and followed him.

- Matthew 4:18-20

They left everything to follow Jesus. All He asked was to follow Him as He was leading them into a life that, while marked with trials and struggles, will become more abundant, more worth it. He was leading his disciples into making a more meaningful story with the lives that they have been given b y offering them up to God. This is what Jesus wants to do with us; he wants to bless us, but only if we meaningly choose to follow him wherever he leads us. I know I'm not an expert, but I find that what I have been learning so far with these videos make sense and show how the Bible is so relevant with what's going on today.

Therefore, I'm not going to give up on following him. Even though I have my psychological and emotional struggles to go through at times, it's good to know that God is in control and that he's there for me. Jesus never promised that following him would be easy; if it were, would it have been worth the effort, faith and trust?

I guess I'll leave it here on that note. I believe the next video discussion will be on the role of the Holy Spirit. I think that will be quite a great topic to explore. But yeah, as far as I can say, true discipleship starts with answering the call to follow Jesus, and that journey will lead you to life.

Stay cool 'til next time!