What does Jesus expect of his followers?
Here are three things that Jesus requires of his followers (disciples).
1. If we love Jesus, Jesus expects that we will obey him.
John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments. What commandments – the three found in the New Testament; Love God, love your neighbour, love one another as I have loved you John 15:12
2. We are expected to follow his example Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, while He showed the disciples how to follow God. Jesus did not tell His disciples to follow other teachers; in fact, He warned against "false teachers" and rejected teachers of questionable beliefs. Paul followed the example of Jesus as he instructed believers to follow him, 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."
It is scary thought to consider ‘just who are our children following today’? Our modern society "teachers/leaders" can include both people and peers and even the media. Media includes influences such as educational curriculums, books, television, music, movies, gaming, internet, etc. This is an urgent need for people especially our children to see just who it is that we are following.
Many people would rather follow someone on Twitter rather than follow Jesus in life.
3. Jesus expects His disciples to count the cost of following Him. In the book ‘Mere Christianity’ [1] C.S. Lewis put the idea of counting the cost like this:
"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self--all your wishes and precautions--to Christ.
A.W. Tozer on this topic expressed it like this: "Among the plastic saints of our times, Jesus has to do all the dying, and all we want to hear is another sermon about his dying."
Part of following Jesus is being willing to put the self-life to death.
Rom 6:11a Think (reckon) of yourselves as dead to sin.
Death to self is NOT optional for Christians- We need to count the cost of following Jesus and the effects it will produce in our lives. It is a sobering thought to read-
Mat 10:38 anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Amen
Personal Prayer
[1] C S Lewis Mere Christianity Chapter 23: 24, 26-33.
In Part 3 we discuss the path that Jesus wants us to follow.