In a new book I am reading, the author opens with some questions about following Jesus that have been challenging me the past few weeks. It starts this way:
Who are you following?
Everybody is following somebody - or at least something.
Put another way, we’re all disciples.
The question isn’t, Am I a disciple?
It’s, Who or what am I a disciple of?
I know, I know; what I just said is akin to heresy in the modern world. We want so badly to believe that we - and we alone - plot our course, captain our ship, control our destiny. We aspire to lead, not to follow.
But, question: How is that working out for you?
Do you ever feel that nagging “thought” tug at the back of your mind: Is the life I’m living the life I most deeply desire? Is this it?
A few pages later, he writes,
The question is not, Am I becoming a person?
It’s, Who or what am I becoming?
This is followed by:
The question isn’t, Am I going to believe?
It’s, Who or what am I going to believe in?
Meaning, who or what am I going to entrust my life to? Do I really want to trust myself - or any other human, for that matter?
In the midst of these questions, he writes a summary statement which is worth consideration for all those who claim to follow Jesus. He states,
For those of us who desire to follow Jesus, here is the reality we must turn and face: If we’re not being intentionally formed by Jesus himself, then it’s highly likely we are being unintentionally formed by someone or something else.
So, saints, the questions I have been asking myself and I encourage you to ask yourselves are these: In what ways am I being formed by Jesus? What are the other influences in my life that are forming me and what does the impact of that formation look like? What am I doing to remove those influences that are working against my formation into Christlikeness or have I become too enslaved to those influences? These are all questions we must ask ourselves on a regular basis if we would be faithful followers of the one who has called us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
