Are You A Follower Or A Fan?
Luke 14: 26-27 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters -- yes, even their own life -- such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (NIV)
The other day, a friend suggested that I watch this Christian film called, "Not A Fan" on Pureflix, which is the online Christian Movie version of Netflix. I finally saw the film last night and felt a sense of confirmation in regards to things in my own life. I won't give the movie away in its entirety, but as I sat down and watched the film in its entirety, I could really relate to various aspects of the movie and will highlight some things that all Christians should consider on their spiritual journey.
Many Christians attend church on a weekly basis not understanding the true meaning of being a follower of Christ. They may have grown up in the church, converted as an adult, or just carry the title just because it was passed down to them through their parents growing up. Whichever the case, there comes a point in one's life when they have to decide if they are a follower of Christ or just a fan.
The sports arena racks in billions of dollars per year based on the services they provide to their fans. Rather it be actively playing sports, promoting products, or even being a news commentator, the sports industry knows how to attract the fans and encourage them to spend their money. A fan, however, does not normally have a sense of loyalty. If the athlete trade teams, get suspended, injured, stop performing at their peak, or even quit the game altogether, most fans will move on to the next big thing. Out of sight or popularity is often out of mind. Unfortunately, many treat Jesus the same way.
The church has often promoted the idea of a prosperity gospel, which has many Christians being fans and not true followers of Jesus. As long as Jesus provides them with nice homes, cars, money in the bank, status, health and/or fame, they are too willing to be connected. But what happens when Jesus says, "Forsake all and follow me?" Will they continue to sing of His praises should the goodies in life stop coming, or will they as fans pick up and move on to the next big thing? This can easily determine the fans from the true followers.
The Bible tells the story of a rich young man who proclaimed with his mouth that he wanted to inherit eternal life. Luke 18:18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (NIV) Looking at the surface of the question, it seemed that the young man was coming to Jesus with all due respect and sincerity. Nevertheless, Jesus was not moved by the words of the young man, but let him know that no one was good except his Heavenly Father because Jesus was not on earth to edify himself, but to exalt God even though they are One.
Jesus recited to him the ten commandments as they were handed down to Moses for He knew that the religious people during that day took great pride in saying that they obeyed the laws of Moses. Upon hearing this, you can imagine that the young man's chest cavity began to rise with a sense of pride as he let Jesus know that he followed the ten commandments every since he was a child. Jesus listened to the young man's response, but let him know that there was still something left undone in his life. Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (NIV) Jesus was testing the young man's heart because it was not good enough to just be a fan, but Jesus wanted a true follower.
In Matthews version of the same story, he lets us know that what Jesus required of the young man was more than he was willing to do. Therefore, he walked away. Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth. (NIV) That was the determining factor in the young man's life to see if he truly wanted to be a follower or was just a fan. As we can tell, the young man was just a fan.
The rich young man thought that he had kept all the ten commandments, but when the test came, he had broken the one commandment with regards to having no idols before God. Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." (NIV) The young man was not willing to give up his wealth to be a follower of Christ. Therefore, his wealth was his god, so he had actually broken all of the commandments. James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (NIV)
So, ask yourself this question: "If Jesus asked you to give up your job, sell your possessions, leave friends and family behind, give away the money in your account, be a missionary in another country -- could you do it?" Or would you be like the rich young ruler who said with his mouth that he would follow Jesus, but there were unsaid restrictions as to how far he would go? Many Christians are deceiving themselves every day with regards to their true loyalty to Christ. They have the mindset that they will serve Jesus as long as He keeps on giving and never requires them to give up anything to affect their comfort zone. What they fail to realize is that there is a cost to follow Christ. Jesus has enough fans who proclaim His name once or twice a week, give a gift on Christmas, and work in the Church. Even though those things are good, it does not mean that you are a follower.
Being a true follower of Christ means that you are not attached to the things of this world, but will truely forsake all even if that means your life in order to follow Him. That is what separates the fans from the followers. Fans will only stay with you while things are going well, but a follower will follow you even through the jungle without looking back. Jesus needs more followers who will forsake the things of this world to follow Him -- ultimately receiving a greater reward in Heaven. Will you be a true follower or just a fan?
Many Christians attend church on a weekly basis not understanding the true meaning of being a follower of Christ. They may have grown up in the church, converted as an adult, or just carry the title just because it was passed down to them through their parents growing up. Whichever the case, there comes a point in one's life when they have to decide if they are a follower of Christ or just a fan.
The sports arena racks in billions of dollars per year based on the services they provide to their fans. Rather it be actively playing sports, promoting products, or even being a news commentator, the sports industry knows how to attract the fans and encourage them to spend their money. A fan, however, does not normally have a sense of loyalty. If the athlete trade teams, get suspended, injured, stop performing at their peak, or even quit the game altogether, most fans will move on to the next big thing. Out of sight or popularity is often out of mind. Unfortunately, many treat Jesus the same way.
The church has often promoted the idea of a prosperity gospel, which has many Christians being fans and not true followers of Jesus. As long as Jesus provides them with nice homes, cars, money in the bank, status, health and/or fame, they are too willing to be connected. But what happens when Jesus says, "Forsake all and follow me?" Will they continue to sing of His praises should the goodies in life stop coming, or will they as fans pick up and move on to the next big thing? This can easily determine the fans from the true followers.
The Bible tells the story of a rich young man who proclaimed with his mouth that he wanted to inherit eternal life. Luke 18:18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (NIV) Looking at the surface of the question, it seemed that the young man was coming to Jesus with all due respect and sincerity. Nevertheless, Jesus was not moved by the words of the young man, but let him know that no one was good except his Heavenly Father because Jesus was not on earth to edify himself, but to exalt God even though they are One.
Jesus recited to him the ten commandments as they were handed down to Moses for He knew that the religious people during that day took great pride in saying that they obeyed the laws of Moses. Upon hearing this, you can imagine that the young man's chest cavity began to rise with a sense of pride as he let Jesus know that he followed the ten commandments every since he was a child. Jesus listened to the young man's response, but let him know that there was still something left undone in his life. Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (NIV) Jesus was testing the young man's heart because it was not good enough to just be a fan, but Jesus wanted a true follower.
In Matthews version of the same story, he lets us know that what Jesus required of the young man was more than he was willing to do. Therefore, he walked away. Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth. (NIV) That was the determining factor in the young man's life to see if he truly wanted to be a follower or was just a fan. As we can tell, the young man was just a fan.
The rich young man thought that he had kept all the ten commandments, but when the test came, he had broken the one commandment with regards to having no idols before God. Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." (NIV) The young man was not willing to give up his wealth to be a follower of Christ. Therefore, his wealth was his god, so he had actually broken all of the commandments. James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (NIV)
So, ask yourself this question: "If Jesus asked you to give up your job, sell your possessions, leave friends and family behind, give away the money in your account, be a missionary in another country -- could you do it?" Or would you be like the rich young ruler who said with his mouth that he would follow Jesus, but there were unsaid restrictions as to how far he would go? Many Christians are deceiving themselves every day with regards to their true loyalty to Christ. They have the mindset that they will serve Jesus as long as He keeps on giving and never requires them to give up anything to affect their comfort zone. What they fail to realize is that there is a cost to follow Christ. Jesus has enough fans who proclaim His name once or twice a week, give a gift on Christmas, and work in the Church. Even though those things are good, it does not mean that you are a follower.
Being a true follower of Christ means that you are not attached to the things of this world, but will truely forsake all even if that means your life in order to follow Him. That is what separates the fans from the followers. Fans will only stay with you while things are going well, but a follower will follow you even through the jungle without looking back. Jesus needs more followers who will forsake the things of this world to follow Him -- ultimately receiving a greater reward in Heaven. Will you be a true follower or just a fan?
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