According to Psychology Today, the average person makes more the 35,000 decisions in a single day. This includes conscious and subconscious choices, with many decisions based on prior knowledge and experience. Most decisions are rather simple – where to sit, what to eat for the next meal, what lane you should drive in. These decisions are easily made and have very little consequences. Other decisions are more serious with long-lasting effects. Your decision to follow Jesus is one of them. For once you decide to follow Jesus, everything in your life should change. If you don’t believe me, then look at the life of C. S. Lewis (1898-1963).
He was a novelist, poet, lecturer and Christian apologist. Absolutely brilliant, he held academic posts at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. His Christian faith can be seen in all his classic literary works: The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem with Pain. However, there was a period in his life when he believed nothing at all. In his memoir, Surprised by Joy, Lewis told how he was baptized into the Church of Ireland, but the sacrament had no influence on him. He walked away from the faith and didn’t return until he was 32. He thanked his friends, including J. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), for his spiritual wakening. His life would never be the same again. Your decision to follow Jesus changed you too. That takes us to our reading, John 1:35-42.
The story is a little complex. It is early in Jesus’s earthly ministry. It is so early Jesus doesn’t have a single disciple. However, John the Baptist does have disciples. When Jesus passes John the Baptist and his disciples, John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, referring to Jesus’s future sacrificial death. With that endorsement, two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus. The Bible identifies one of the disciples as Andrew, tradition identifies the other disciple as John, the author of the fourth Gospel. Seconds later, Jesus noticed they were following him and asks them, “Why?” It is an excellent question because no one likes being stalked. They answered Jesus’s question with another question, “Where are you staying?” Jesus answers that question with an invitation, “Come and you will see.” They accept the invitation and stay with Jesus until about 4:00 in the afternoon. At that time, the two leave Jesus and tell others about him. Andrew told his brother Peter, who decide to follow Jesus too. In this story, three people decide to follow Jesus; their decision to follow Jesus changed them. The question is, are you following Jesus? To explore your answer, let me ask you three more questions.
First, do you follow Jesus exclusively? In the story, Andrew and John begin as disciples of John the Baptist. Don’t forget, John the Baptist was their rabbi or teacher, Andrew and John were his disciples or students. In other words, he gave them spiritual insight and direction. When John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, they listen to him because they trust him. This story is incredible because Andrew and John left John the Baptist to follow Jesus. They were going to follow Jesus exclusively. Are you following Jesus exclusively? In a politically correct world, this will make some people uncomfortable.
I was raised in a steel town in northeast Ohio. I have no childhood memories of knowing non-Christians. Everyone I knew followed some form of Christianity. I knew people who represented the various branches of the mainline Protestant church. I knew people who practiced the various forms of Orthodoxy. I knew people who were Roman Catholic or Byzantine Catholic. Everyone was a Christian. There was no spiritual tension because everyone believed in Jesus. Then, I became an adult and moved to more urban areas. Saying you follow Jesus exclusively suddenly took on a new meaning. It meant something. However, we are not called to judge others, we are called to love others. That divine truth disarmed many situations. Honestly, I am thankful I am not the judge. You can follow Jesus exclusively and love anyone. The question is, do you follow Jesus exclusively?
Second, do you follow Jesus unconditionally? One of the great stories in the Bible can be found in the Book of Job. Everyone knows the story because everyone has played the part of Job. In the beginning he has everything – wealth, health and family. Satan believes Job’s loves for God is conditional, so he begins to take things away from Job. His wealth is taken away. His health is taken away. His loved ones are taken away. His friends witness his ordeal and encourage him to curse God and die. Job refuses, because his love for God is unconditional.
Many follow Jesus conditionally. It is easy to follow Jesus when life is good. It is easy to follow Jesus when you have a well-paying, enjoyable job. It is easy to follow Jesus when your health is good and your loved one’s health is good. It is easy to follow Jesus when all your relationships are sound. It is not so easy to follow Jesus when you are unemployed, sick and alone. It is not so easy to follow Jesus when a loved one is struggling. It is not so easy to follow Jesus when your friends tell you to stop following Jesus. After all, we believe in an all-powerful God who resurrected Jesus from the dead. Have you ever wondered why our all-powerful God doesn’t help you? Do you follow Jesus unconditionally?
Third, do you follow Jesus passionately? In other words, do you have a desire to be like Jesus? Are you more like Jesus now than the day you decided to follow him? Following Jesus should transform you in three ways. First, following Jesus will change your perspective. Are you looking at life through different lens, one that emphasizes God’s love, grace, and an eternal perspective. Second, following Jesus will change your priorities. You will be more concerned with others. Our world is filled with hurting people. Third, following Jesus will change your purpose. Personal gain or worldly success will be replaced by God’s plan for the world. If you are going to follow Jesus passionately, then you better be prepared to change. Too many use Jesus and the Bible to promote their personal causes and beliefs. Do you follow Jesus passionately?
In the scripture lesson for today, three people, Andrew, Peter, and John, decide to follow Jesus. They follow Jesus for the rest of their lives. In the end, only John dies of old age. Yet, he experienced the isolation of Patmos Island, where he had a series of visions. Those visions became the book of Revelation. Tradition tells us that Peter died in Rome, where he was crucified upside down for evangelizing. He was crucified upside down at his own request, because he didn’t feel worthy to die like Jesus. Tradition also tells us that Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped instead of a t-shaped cross in Achaea, Greece because he too didn’t feel worthy to die like Jesus. It is safe to say they followed Jesus exclusively, unconditionally, and passionately. The question is – do you follow Jesus, or is it how you follow Jesus? Billy Graham (1818-2018) once said, “When we come to Christ, we’re no longer the most important person in the world to us; Christ is. Instead of living only for ourselves, we have a higher goal: to live for Jesus.”
Russ Adams 