One of the best books I’ve read this year is Following
Christ: Experiencing Life the Way It Was Meant to Be, by Joseph
Stowell. Although it’s more than a decade old, it seemed particularly relevant
to what I’ve been thinking about and experiencing lately. Other books have also
addressed the difference between being a Christian leader and being a follower.
(More recently published I
Am a Follower, by Leonard Sweet, although I found the style of that one
hard to read.) Stowell comments:
“Scripture is crystal clear about
the profile of a true follower of Jesus Christ… First, a follower was one who
had a growing and deepening relationship to the one they were following…
Second, a true follower is in the process of a radical reformation because of
the influence of the leader on his life. True followers do not remain the same
once they start following Christ… For us then, following means to adopt Him as
the local rabbi of our lives and surrender; to sit under His wisdom in order to
learn from Him; and to serve Him in every way possible. It means to give Him
the highest priority as the supreme relationship of life out of which every
other relationship and activity is defined and directed” (73,75).
Once you’ve become a Christian and learned the basics, it’s
easy to fall into the “religious habit” of doing certain activities but not
really following Christ and not growing in faith. You can be active in the
spiritual disciplines—reading the Bible, praying, going to church, etc.—but not
be changed by any of it. Stowell gives a great word picture of this life:
“Going into orbit around Christ
mean stifling any further impulse of movement toward Him… Fully devoted
followers are involved in a passionate pursuit of Christ and are never
satisfied with stagnancy or a stalemate. Yet becoming an orbital Christian is
alluring because it is more comfortable and less challenging, and besides, we
can always take satisfaction in the fact that there are others whose orbits are
father out than ours” (96).
I’ve been realizing anew that I don’t want to be satisfied
with the status quo. I don’t want to be content with going through the motions
without being drawn consistently nearer to Christ. I want God to do whatever it
takes to keep conforming me to the image of Christ (see Romans 8:29 and 12:2).
Stowell asks, “Can you believe that there is no price too high to pay to
experience the privilege of walking with Him?” (102). Missionary David
Livingstone wrote in his journal, “God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay
any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie
that binds my heart to Yours.” That can be a frightening thing to pray, unless
you are convinced that God is worth it all and following Him is the supreme adventure
in this life.
The old hymn by Charles Tindley urges “Nothing between my
soul and my Savior…” It has been my prayer lately that God would not allow
anything to remain between us—no sin, no habits, no desires, no goals or
priorities—nothing that would interfere with being “rooted and grounded in love”
and comprehending “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians
3:17-19). I want Him to keep pruning away all that is unfruitful in me.
Even as I write and pray that, I am aware that my choices
don’t always line up with my heart’s deepest desire. I know how often I choose
distractions instead of seeking God. It’s easy to turn on the TV, flip open a
novel, or even go to bed early rather than spending time in the Word and
prayer. Although I’m somewhat more disciplined than I was a year or two ago, I
know I’ve just settled into a new orbit a little closer to the Son. But I also
remember from physics that if you get too close to a large mass, the gravitational
force will continue to pull you in unless you are actively working against it.
So I trust that God’s pull on me will be ever increasing and He will not allow
me to remain at a distance.
