That’s right. You don’t need to rub your eyes to make sure you read the title correctly. I am not a fan of Jesus. But it’s not in the way that you think.
Lately, my small group and I have been reading the book called “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman. It’s a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone, but it talks about what it looks like to either be a fan or a follower of Jesus. Because they are two different things.
Unfortunately, many churches, and America as a whole has made following Jesus sound easy, and as if it doesn’t really take much commitment at all. But that is simply not true. If you actually look at the Word, and see what Jesus truly asks of us, they are things such as “take up your cross and follow me,” and “how the way is narrow and the followers are few.” Following Christ, actually following Him, is difficult because he asks us to do things that are WAY out of our comfort zones. And sometimes living for Christ isn’t the most popular thing to do. We live in a world that desperately needs to know God’s love. And sadly, in the end, there may be some friends and family we know that we thought would be in heaven, but won’t be there.
Being a fan of Jesus is saying that, sure, we like Him. He seems nice enough. But fans only admire from a distance. For example, I’m a fan of Chris Tomlin. I really like his music. I bought a few of his CD’s. I would really enjoy getting to meet him someday. But I don’t know ANYTHING about him. I don’t walk my daily life with him. I simply admire him from a distance. And respect him.
If I grasp this concept of not being a fan of Jesus like I think I do, then this is what I understand. Jesus is not interested in people simply being his fans. He wants every single piece of our lives, hearts, minds, actions…the list could go on. He is big enough and confident enough to not need an ego boost of fans. He asks us to be followers. Dedicated, when the rubber meets the road, through all of the hard things that he asks us to do. And with those hard things, He promises peace. It is not to late to become followers instead of fans. Let’s not admire from a distance anymore. Let’s get the front row seats.
My name is Corri, and I am not a fan of Jesus.
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