How to be a true Follower

I want to wrap up this series of posts on following with some more suggestions on how we can be more of a follower of Jesus. Once again, I will be drawing on notes I made from comments that Rick Atchley, of The Hills church in Fort Worth, TX, made in his "Opening Day" series of messages. The whole series is available at The Hills Church.

As Rick said in the fourth message, there is a drift today away from being like Jesus to just liking Him. Have you ever been on the 'inactive member' list at your church? What exactly is an 'inactive member'? If we did our job at work the way we do our service at church, we would be fired right quick! A fan of Jesus shows up when the weather is good, they are feeling well, and they are not busy elsewhere. A follower is there unless something serious stops them from going, just like a good employee. After all, we are doing the work of the kingdom, aren't we?

Even followers have trouble keeping full focus on Jesus, and fail to be Christ-like at all times. The difference is that followers push on in the hard times and continue to look to Jesus for direction. Followers return to servant status much more quickly. For as Rick pointed out in his message, we need to have a shift in our attitudes in four aspects: from saved by to saved for; from consumer to contributor; from bad-stopping to do-gooding; and from called out to sent in.

We need to remember that although we are saved by grace (Eph 2:8), we are also created for good works (Eph 2:10). So many today believe that accepting Jesus as Savior is the end of their search for God, where in reality it is only the first step. Just trying not to do bad things does not truly show love as doing good things, especially for those who make life difficult. Are you just sitting in the pew on Sunday, consuming the spiritual food being served by the preacher? or are you making a solid contribution to furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Church has been called out of the world so we can be sent back in to help others get out. Jesus calls us out so we can get a different perspective on the way the world truly is, then equips us to go back in to save others.

The final point Rick made was that whenever hope is given, a lift is given to everyone involved. Both the giver and receiver are encouraged and strengthened when good deeds are done. A foretaste of Heaven, which is so wonderful I can hardly wait to get there, is shown here on earth when we share the love of Jesus with others. Sharing that love can be as easy as opening a door or as complicated as dealing with a severe handicap or sickness. "Keeping our eyes on Jesus" was a motto from a pastor at a previous church I attended, but sadly too few took up that mantle.

I, myself, have been less of a follower than I know I can be, and God challenges me daily (hourly?) in my walk. I have recently finished reading "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel, and with my next post begin to share from that book, chapter by chapter. I appreciate any feedback to my thoughts (even though it is gonna hurt) so I can continue to get better in reflecting God's love in my life.

Jim