What Does It Actually Mean to Follow Jesus?
Living Commissioned Journal #2
It’s one thing to believe in Jesus.
It’s another thing to follow Him.
“Follow Me.”
Two words.
We've heard them so many times that I wonder if we've stopped hearing what Jesus was actually saying.
For many of us, following Jesus has become almost synonymous with believing the right things.
We believe Jesus is the Son of God.
We believe He died and rose again.
We go to church. We read our Bibles. We pray. We serve.
Those things matter.
But I've been wrestling with a different question:
Is it possible to believe everything Jesus said and still resist where Jesus is leading?
Because when Jesus said, “Follow Me,” He wasn't simply asking people to agree with Him.
He was asking them to move.
And that's where this gets uncomfortable.
It's easy to talk about Jesus as Savior.
It's even easy to sing about Jesus as King.
But a King has authority.
If Jesus really is King, then there will be moments when following Him means going somewhere we wouldn't have chosen for ourselves.
There will be moments when His direction interferes with ours.
And maybe that's where we discover whether we're actually following.
Because following Jesus isn't difficult when He's going the direction you already wanted to go.
The question is what happens when He turns.
What happens when His way confronts your plans?
Your comfort?
Your priorities?
Your idea of what your life was supposed to look like?
Do you still follow?
I've had to wrestle with that question myself.
There have been times when obedience made sense.
And there have been times when it didn't.
Times when following Jesus was exciting.
And times when following Him meant surrendering something I would have rather held onto.
I think sometimes we've reduced following Jesus to inviting Him along on our journey.
We make the plans.
We establish the priorities.
We decide what success looks like.
Then we ask Jesus to bless it.
But that's not really following, is it?
Following means He chooses the direction.
Maybe that's why those two words still carry so much weight:
“Follow Me.”
Jesus doesn't promise to show us the entire road before asking us to take the next step.
He gives us something better.
Himself.
And maybe that's why beholding the King has to come before following the King.
Because surrender looks very different when you know the One you're surrendering to.
The more clearly we see Jesus, the more we realize He isn't merely worthy of our belief.
He's worthy of our lives.
So maybe the question isn't simply:
Do you believe in Jesus?
Maybe there's another question worth sitting with:
Are you following Him?
Pause and Consider
Where have you been asking Jesus to follow your plans instead of allowing Him to lead?
Is there something He's already made clear that you've been hesitant to obey?
If Jesus changed the direction of your life, would you still follow?