What is the number one thing you spend your time, thoughts, and energy on? If you had to just choose the one you think and act on the most, out of everything you say and do in your life, what would it be?
I know some people who might answer this with school or work since that's where they spend the most of their time, others who could say video games or social media because of the hours they devote to it every day, and yet others who might give the anxious thoughts that #1 spot.
But how many people would answer: Jesus?
I think the answer is surprisingly low compared to how many people claim to be Christians.
I know I've talked about some of this before, but I really want to hone in on what it means to follow Jesus. After all, these are some of the last days we'll walk this earth. We don't know how long is left until Jesus returns, but it could happen any day! We don't know, so we ought to be prepared.
So today, I've been pondering what it means to truly give one's life to Jesus and follow Him wholeheartedly. Not half-following-Jesus and half-focusing-on/living-in-the-world, because anyone who's half-and-half isn't truly saved or truly following Jesus. You have to choose. We all have to choose, and time is running out to do so (could be another hundred years, could be a week...).
What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to surrender.
Now, a lot of people like to fight to win. We want to come out on top. We want to be right. We're not keen on the idea of surrendering, at least not here in America. Yet, it's exactly what Jesus commands us to do. In Matthew 16, right after Jesus told his followers about how he must die for all sin, he says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (from v. 24-26).
What does that mean? It means if we want to be saved by Jesus, we have to give up the life we may have wanted to built for ourselves and instead follow in Jesus's footsteps. He surrendered His life and carried His cross, only to be tortured, ridiculed, and killed upon it. Yet, when we choose to surrender our lives and life like Jesus—sacrificing ourselves for the good of others and living as kind, loving, nonjudgmental people—then we will receive eternal life with Him! That's astounding!
It's not an easy call to accept, but it's so worth it in the end for those who choose it. In one of the most well-known verses of Scripture, Jesus says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:16-18)
God will condemn and judge, but Jesus came to save us from that judgment. After all, we are all sinners. Even back in Psalms it was written, "The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." (Ps. 14:2-3). The same could be said today. We've all sinned and been corrupted. There is no one who is perfectly righteous by their own doing. Thankfully it's not by our own doing that we are saved! Judgment may still be coming, but for those who believe in Jesus, they will not only be saved but given the gift of eternal life!
That being said, we have a different understanding of what it means to believe than they did in the Bible. To believe meant to live out that belief. When they believed in a god, they made sacrifices to that god and prayed to it and trusted it to take care of them, and when they believed in the one true God, they would (or at least would try to) follow God's commandments. Everybody sins, fails, and messes up from time to time, but belief means you accept God as your Lord and choose to follow Him as well as you can.
What does that look like? It means trying to live like Jesus lived. That's the whole point of the commandments in the Bible is to live lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (aka the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 6). Now, the commandments about sacrificing animals don't apply anymore because Jesus came as the ultimate sacrifice for sins, but we should still not steal, murder, worship idols, etc. In James 2, the writer James discusses the importance of following the commandments God gave back in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and adds "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?"
Just because we are saved in Jesus doesn't mean we should just dismiss the commands God gave. Why are we saying we believe Jesus came to save us if we don't live like Jesus came to save us? We need saving! Why would we choose to live in opposition to God's commands if we are so desperate for salvation in Jesus?
I've said a lot more than I intended to, so I want to zoom in on what's really important here.
A. We've all sinned. The punishment for that sin is death (Romans 6). So, we all deserve to die.
B. Jesus came to save! Anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved and receive eternal life (John 3).
C. Belief without obedience is useless. Our faith is dead if we don't live it out (James 2).
We're not going to get it perfect, but that's not the point. The point is that Jesus changes our lives when we truly surrender to Him, and that's exactly what He wants. He wants to change our hearts to be more loving, kind, patient, and merciful people and for us to follow in His footsteps. He wants to save us from our sins! But it's up to us to:
A. Acknowledge that we are sinners and ask God to forgive us,
B. Accept Jesus saved us from our sins and receive the free gift of eternal life, and
C. Repent, rejecting the sin we used to live by and choosing to live like Jesus instead.
It's very simple to follow Jesus, but it's not easy. People don't like Christians. They treat them poorly and call them names, just like they did to Jesus. In some places, they'll break into homes and murder Christians! But considering God gives eternal life to those who follow Him, it's not the end for those murdered in Jesus's name. In fact, they'll be blessed and get to spend eternity with God (Revelation 6-7)! That's so much more worth it than living for this life and receiving judgment instead.
So ultimately, if you want to follow Jesus, start by praying, confessing your sins before God and pleading for forgiveness (which He will surely give). Then, accept that Jesus saves you from your sins, ask Him to do so, and choose to surrender your life to Him. Finally, stop living in your sins, and instead choose to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:29-31). Everything else is summed up in those two commands of loving God with all that you are and loving other people the way you want to be loved.
I don't know about you, but that's the kind of life I want to live: a life of love for Jesus my Savior.
Note: if you've chosen to pray, confess your sins, and believe in Jesus, I'd love to hear about it or talk with you further about what it means to love like Jesus and truly repent of sin. Reach out any time!
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