Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
Are you a follower of Jesus? If so then you are like many who have come to know the free gift which God has bestowed upon them. I don't count myself as a follower of Jesus. Sure, I have the realization that Jesus died for my sins and that He is Lord of all {John 1:3}. However, I still am not a follower of Jesus. It's not that I have found some new way of enlightenment, but a new way of seeing Jesus. For if I were to speak the common belief that I am a follower of Jesus, there are those who would point out, correctly, that I no longer follow Jesus. The apostle Paul was also no follower of Jesus. For Paul knew the truth of who he was and where Christ fit in that realization. It is Paul who speaks to us in Galatians of the truth of Christ in us {Galatians 2:20}. This was Paul's realization that Jesus was not dead nor removed in any way from his life, but that Jesus Himself lived in him. Of course, the truth of Christ Jesus in us does not apply to just Paul, but to all whom God has revealed His truth. So, were I to say that I was a follower of Jesus I would not honest with myself. For how does one who lives as Jesus remain a follower of Him? I'm not just playing on words here, but illustrating how we should see ourselves when it is that the revelation of the Lord presents itself. I am in no way saying that being a follower of Jesus is a bad thing, for I was once among you. I once followed the knowledge that it was Jesus who provided for me a new life. However, what I did not realize until more than a few years later was that not only did Jesus provide a new life for me, but a new life in Him. This is the common misconception among Christians these days, that we follow Jesus without ever taking the time to know Him. This is exactly why Jesus Himself invited Andrew to "come and see" {John 1:39}. For if we simply follow Jesus, we will never discover who He truly is. Indeed, we need to take a deeper dive into our relationship with Him. As Jesus said...come and see.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3: 8 NKJV
As a young Christian I was indeed a follower of Christ as many are. I knew Jesus as the Son of God, who died upon the cross that my sins would be forgiven. However, if I were to explain the Jesus I first knew with the Jesus I know today there would certainly be a few differences. First off, I believed the Jesus I first met to be removed from my life. For me, Jesus had risen after His death and had ascended into heaven and was seated at the Fathers side. To me, heaven was now home base for Jesus. In order for me, a follower of Jesus, to remain in His presence I had to "win the race" {2 Timothy 4"7}. In other words, in order for me to spend eternity with Jesus, I needed to make damn sure that my life here on earth met His approval. Needless to say, much of what I once understood about who Jesus really is came from the church. And, the church is but a perspective of the true identity of Christ Jesus. A good friend of mine who has always remained nameless has spoken many times of our "filter" when speaking of Jesus. Indeed, we all too often believe in the Jesus we were led to believe in. If you were raised in the church, as I was, then your Jesus filter may have a difficult time understanding the notion of Christ in you. That in no way means that the Lord will not reveal His Son in you, but that you might have a hard time understanding it. I know I did. Despite all of my beliefs in the traditional understanding of Jesus, God in His time revealed Christ Jesus in me. I have now passed from following Jesus to living as Jesus. It is by this knowledge that I can honestly say that I'm not a follower of Jesus.
Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" He said to them, "come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day.
John 1: 38 - 39 NKJV
~Scott~
1 comment:
I would say this, that I do not LIVE as a follower of Jesus, but as one who IS Jesus. :)
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