Recently, Jon and I went to a concert in Providence. This incredible musician kept the audience in the palm of his hand for two hours with nothing but his bronchitis-ridden voice and a piano. He had quite the following. Most of the audience knew his songs so well, they even sang the hummy parts. At the end, he received an encore with two standing ovations. How much would the woman I sat next to have paid to have lunch with this guy? She was shrieking and clapping so much, I think she would have given an awful lot of money for that privilege.
Recently, two of our sons prepared to stand in front of an audience and be baptized. They thought through this question:
Why are you following Jesus?
For a 10 year-old and a 7 year-old, I thought the answer would have been completely wrapped up in their salvation: Jesus died for my sin and rose again. But their answers went beyond that. One says he follows Jesus because it’s obvious to him that God made the world, and because God will never leave him. He treasures the truth that Almighty God will always have his back and be close to Him. The other says that God is victorious, because one day Jesus will throw Satan into the lake of fire (“the burny place” as he calls it), and God will do away with evil once and for all. He understands that he is on the winning side, and that his Savior cannot be defeated, EVER.
The boys’ answers made me think through the question myself.
Why am I following Jesus?
I asked God the Father to forgive my sin through Jesus’ blood when I was a small child. That was almost 40 years ago. Why, after so long, am I choosing today to follow Jesus?
Because He is my HERO!
The older I get, the more real it becomes: Jesus suffered for me. He created everything that exists, as it says in Colossians 1:15,16: “He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.” This Mighty Creator made himself like me in body, lived a perfect life free of sin, and then traded His perfect record for my filthy one. “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them.” (John 18:4) THIS is why Jesus is my hero. My creator knew He was about to be beat up, flogged, and crucified – and He stepped FORWARD instead of running away.
What would I give to have lunch with Jesus? I want to be as close to Him as I can get until I actually meet Him in heaven. That prospect fills me with joy, wonder, and terror. It’s going to be awesome. Til then, He’s the one I’m following.
Why are you following Jesus?
