Why Do I Follow Christ?
“And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:19-20 (ESV)
Why do I follow Christ? This is a question that has been asked of me by myself, others, and even God. When following Jesus collides with my own will, comfort, and convenience I have to ask myself why. When I say things and make decisions that those who do not know the LORD are confused by, they ask me why. When I complain to God that He is not doing what I want Him to do for me, He asks me why. It is a question that I, or any that follow Christ, cannot avoid being confronted with.
Answering this question is surprisingly both simple and complex at the same time. In the many times that I have tried to answer, I have been faced with conviction, passion, and a further understanding of both who I am and who Jesus is. I will give my answer here, but I will also explore the depth and breadth of the journey that this question takes me on every time it is brought up to me.
What is Following Christ?
Even before answering why, I have to ask myself if I really am following Christ to begin with. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Since as far back as I can remember I have identified myself as a Christian. I have gone to church most Sundays, I have read the Bible at least occasionally, and I have prayed before my meals and when I need God’s help. To most people that is enough for me to be considered a Christian. There has always been something with that, however, that has never sat well with me. Is that really all that following Jesus is?
Generally speaking, I do not believe that basic American Christianity is truly following Jesus. I have met many people that identify themselves as Christians yet their choices in life do not reflect what the Bible, God’s Word, says. Their lifestyles are all self-focused and self-serving. I have been that person at many different points in my life as well, and it is frustrating. These “Christians” do not seem to really be following Christ. They do not seem to really know who Jesus is, yet for some reason they are allowed to get away with identifying themselves with Him. Again, I am speaking in general terms based off of my own observations, and I too am guilty of living this American Christian lifestyle.
So then, what does following Christ really look like? We find this answer in Scripture, where Jesus often talks about the cost of discipleship and the reality of following Him. Again and again, He warns of persecution, lack of comfort, and the loss of everything including our own lives.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:37-39 (ESV)
It is easy to see here that following Christ is not self-serving in any form or fashion. To be worthy of Christ, we must be willing to sacrifice everything we hold dear to us. Yet miraculously when we give everything over to Him we find true life. We find a well of living water that never runs dry, in which we will never thirst again. What is this true life? What is this well, this living water?
“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 (ESV)
Following Christ is losing everything we have and finding true life in Him. He is the living water. It is knowing who He is, growing in relationship with Him, falling deeper in love with the living God of all creation every day. As we follow Christ, we lose ourselves in His goodness, love, grace, mercy, and mystery. So, when I ask myself if I am truly following Him, I must honestly examine my life and see what parts of myself and my life I am holding on to and refusing to give to God in faith.
Why Do I Follow Christ?
Cleary, there is a cost to following Jesus. There is no promise of wealth, health, comfort, or security; all these things that we have been taught to chase after in life. Rather, we are called to give these up for the sake of knowing Him (Philippians 3:8). Why then would I want this life of pursuing Christ? What’s in this for me?
“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
1 John 4:15-16 (NIV)
I truly believe that God has had a hold on my heart since I was a child. As I’ve grown older and continued this walk of faith, the sole thing that has kept me going is experiencing God’s love. The reason that I am following Christ is because of the relationship that He has graciously allowed me to have with Him. As it gets more difficult to follow Him every day, I continue to learn more about who He is and surrender more of who I am to Him. While life gets harder, I learn and experience increasingly more of His grace, love, power, miracles, goodness, fairness, kindness, care, affection, wonder, and mystery.
Maybe the reason so many fall away from following Christ is because instead of actually following Him and entering into this relationship they are following a moral law or code of conduct. I have failed in the latter far too many times. It is only because I know the One I am following that I am able to continue to do so.
