WHEN ONE REALLY FOLLOWS JESUS
“They were scared senseless, but he reassured them.”
John 6.21,
TMB
Traditional “following” of Jesus means church activity. Nothing more. Some do sweat it out and claim hardships and sacrifices. Others risk offshore church activities called “missions”—or churches planted here and there. A few die in them. Well, some churches are grown big and rich, and most celebrate this “success.” The modern church recognizes these efforts. But is this following Jesus?
Church activities have hardly scratched the surface of Jesus’ real work. We still don’t know what following Jesus is. We’re scared stiff seeing Jesus’ real work. We fear it as the disciples did, seeing Jesus walking on roaring sea waves like a ghost.
Jesus’ real work often destroys. It ruined religious structures, doctrines, norms, natural laws, leadership concepts, accepted views on deity, and rightness. It destroyed temple and swine businesses, threatened funeral and hospital operations, broke the law, demolished everyday common sense, wrecked open social and cultural barriers, and shattered confidence in an invisible kingdom in the end—people rejected and hated him while his disciples abandoned him. Fact is, Jesus’ real work seldom “inspired” people to ministry as churches so skillfully do today. Jesus urged takers to think matters over many times before plunging into his work. He outright turned some down.
It’s scary to be following Jesus, to say the least. Following Jesus is not what they try to picture today as a big jolly church carnival buzzing with programs and people and food and money—all in the convenience of a huge budget. Following Jesus is often a boat ride in a raving sea with a small tattered sea craft, wind against you, and Jesus out of it all—watching from some mountainside on shore. That’s Jesus’ real work.
Then when you’re tired straining at the oars he comes walking on water in the dark, unrecognizable and creepy. It’s horrible when there’s no hint of it being Jesus. You’d think it’s all the enemy or you’re way off the right path. And that’s what we often have when we launch out in deep waters following Jesus. He’s usually either not in the boat or asleep in it. Most times we have no idea it’s all his idea, then he shows up disguised or in eerie manners, adding to the confusion.
Waves and wind rock the boat really crazy that it actually sinks. Yet he wants us to sleep with him—to rest in God—amid the commotion, the sinking. The thing that really bothers is that in Jesus’ real work, he doesn’t tell us to do anything. This is where churches fear to tread. They play safe and say our efforts are complemented by God. All Jesus tells the sinking boatmen is “It’s me. It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” When he was asleep one time in the boat with them, he merely scolded them. THERE WERE NO INSTRUCTIONS OF WHAT TO DO OR WHAT THEY SHOULD’VE DONE, except have faith.
Genuine following Jesus is this: he tells you to sail off alone to the other side under his watchful eyes. It’s going to be rough sailing. In time he joins you and the only thing needed is to “take him on board.” This is Jesus’ real work.