Follow Closely

There are few things more liberating in a teenager’s life than getting your driver’s license. The freedom to go to school without needing a bus or getting a ride from someone, or going to a friend’s house without having to wait for your parents to drive you there are just two examples of what excited me about getting my license so many years ago. I remember being able to go to away football games in High School. A bunch of us would meet up and drive caravan-style to the game. This train of four or five cars would make our way to the next town to cheer on our Clear Fork Colts. Traveling this way can have its issues, though.

Just a year before I got my license, a bunch of my friends and I decided we’d go to Round Lake Christian Camp for Family Camp. Basically, anyone and everyone could go to Round Lake with a camper or tent and camp for the weekend free of charge. This was perfect for me and my friends. My friend Shawn followed my dad as we drove out to the camp. While this seems fairly harmless, it was a frustrating drive for my father. He told Shawn before we left that he would need to keep up. If he doesn’t follow closely, we could lose him, or another car (or cars) could get between us. Dad didn’t want Shawn to get lost as we were driving out there.
 
All I can say is that Shawn didn’t follow all that closely, and my dad had to pull over a few times to make sure Shawn could find us. I remember him saying over and over as we were heading to the camp, “John, if you’re going to follow someone, you follow closely. There are too many things along the way that get between you and whoever you are following.” Dad didn’t realize it at that moment, but he was giving me advice that would transcend following someone in a car.

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 12:26

Yesterday, we defined a disciple as someone who is FOLLOWING Jesus, is BEING CHANGED by Jesus, and is COMMITTED TO THE MISSION of Jesus. Today, we’re going to talk about that first part…FOLLOWING. What does it mean to follow Jesus? How can we be where He is? A disciple is only a disciple if they are following the one that they are a disciple of. You can’t take over the lead as a disciple. At that point, you have put yourself ahead of the one you are following. This means that, in order for us to be disciples, we have to place ourselves behind the one we follow. That means Jesus is in the lead position.

The best way to characterize this is by saying that discipleship involves a head-level change. A disciple knows who Christ is and makes a decision to follow Him. This is where the ball is put in our hands. The first play is ours. We have to make a conscious decision to follow AFTER Christ. “After” is a keyword here. Christ goes before us, and we follow “AFTER” in His steps. But what does that look like? How can we follow after Him? Jesus gives very clear instruction on this in the book of Luke.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
Luke 9:23–24

Today’s 21st-century Christian reads that a lot differently than a 1st-century Jew would. A Christian today views the cross as this beautiful illustration of God’s love and grace. It’s a symbol of our salvation and represents God’s power over sin and death. A 1st-century Jew sees a symbol of death, a device used to punish those who were not Roman. For Jesus to tell someone to take up their cross and follow Him means different things when looked at in different contexts.
 
That being said, we need to have a 1st-century view of this passage. Too often, we hear the concept that salvation is “a free gift.” While that is partially true, there is also a great cost to be a disciple of Christ. Our salvation carries a great cost. We are called to follow Christ’s example and be willing to put our own lives on the line. I know that’s a heavy concept, but this isn’t some minor thing. We’re talking about eternity. Literally, EVERYTHING is at stake. This is why Jesus says, “whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” The apostle Paul understood this.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:7–8

Paul understood that knowing Christ was of more value than anything else he gained while living on this earth. When it comes to following Christ, perspective is everything. What do you value most? If we value what people think of us, it may be hard to follow Christ. If the things of this earth carry great value for you, it may be hard to follow Christ. If not rocking the boat is an inherent value of yours, following Christ may be hard. Paul saw knowing Christ and following Him as the most valuable thing he could possess. This made Paul’s perspective in line with what Christ has called us to. When you jump down to verse 10, you see just how far Paul would be able to take it.

…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:10–11

Paul uses the phrase “by any means possible.” Are we willing to follow Christ “by any means possible?” If following Christ means taking up our cross as He did, can we follow through? If we’re going to follow Christ, we need to follow closely. There are too many things along the way that can get between you and Christ. To be a disciple, we need to be close to Jesus, and we need to do the things Jesus does. A disciple is someone who is following Christ.