We are Christians, and therefore we follow Jesus. But how do we follow Jesus? What do we sacrifice for it? Or do we give up if it is going to cost us something? And what does it mean to follow Jesus in our time?

Take up your cross⤒🔗

The most well-known words of Jesus about following him are found in Matthew 16:24-25: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”.

For most of us, being a Christian doesn’t often come to “losing our life”. Actually, it does not say life, but soul. And your soul, that is you, who you are, deep inside. Therefore it is about ‘losing yourself’ instead of ‘losing your life’. That is shocking in a society where everything is about the opposite: find yourself.

It can even be more shocking. Peter – one of the people Jesus is talking to – lost his life because he followed Jesus. And in the sixteenth century people ended up burnt at the stake because they followed Jesus. Also in our time Christians are being beheaded in Islamic countries because they choose to follow Jesus. 

Do we want that?←⤒🔗

Our western culture is all about having a pleasant, useful and good life, maximal individual development, and following your feelings etc. Are we too deeply influenced by that culture to follow Jesus unconditionally? Are we willing to sacrifice things for that? ‘Sacrifices’ are of course broader than financial contributions, but also in that the readiness declines. It is more and more difficult for churches to get enough money coming in. 

Consumerism←⤒🔗

Alan Hirsch does not see the worst threat against the following of Jesus coming from other religions. Rather, he says it is consumerism, which he calls “totally pagan”, because Jesus says this about it: “For the Gentiles seek after all these things”. According to him, all these TV programs about renovating your home, about making delicious meals, about becoming famous may look like innocent entertainment, but in reality you are being brain washed with the idea: this is all there is. Ask yourself: do I follow Jesus or the market or culture? Or do I maybe try to combine these things?

The customer is king←⤒🔗

There is still another side to consumerism that is threatening our following of Jesus. Because consuming is choosing what appeals to you out of the abundance of products. That is what we are used to. The customer is king, so he decides. It is difficult to let go of that idea, even when following Jesus. We take it with us to church and we think: this I will do, but not that. And we camouflage it for ourselves this way: “That is the minister’s opinion.”

Credibility←⤒🔗

You lose your credibility if you say that you are totally in favour of something, but in reality you combine that with all kinds of other things. If people are willing to sacrifice for something, it compels others to consider the value of that. That happened in the time of the first Christian congregation in Jerusalem. “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:45). And therefore ... “having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:47). They sacrificed for their cause, the kingdom of God.

They followed Jesus unreservedly. That is what you see in countries where people are being persecuted. If people even lay down their life to follow Jesus, then you have to take them seriously. Hence the church often grows there despite the oppression. 

Now what?←⤒🔗

How can we get our credibility back? (If God gives it of course.) We have to start with embodying the gospel. Literally, give it hands and feet. Not only once in a while when you feel like it, but 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And not ‘un following’ (or ‘un friend’) when he says something you do not like. He is in charge.

This is what it says in the Bible: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Does our faith then not actually prove itself with deeds? Yes, but we often show it more on the inside than to the outside. In the church much happens in the area of compassion, supporting and helping each other. But that is not so visible outside of the congregation. These things should not be confined to the church. 

Doing good←⤒🔗

Thus, embody the gospel. For that, two things are important. In the first place: do good in society. “Seek the welfare of the city, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7) and “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ... It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Pet. 3:13,17). And think of the words of Jesus: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Mat. 5:44,45a).

Communion←⤒🔗

The second important part about embodying the gospel is the Christian communion. For real Christian communion you have to be in smaller groups/communities, some say. Because there you did not choose each other, but given to each other. You know each other and if things are as they should be, you trust each other, you encourage each other with God’s word and you can inquire of each other. Grace is needed for that, and a shared conviction, and hard work to form that communion. And we could add to that that a miracle is needed of which God is the only one who can make it happen. But it is indeed in such a communion that disciples are being formed. That is Christian communion. And in associating with people who are, maybe, irritatingly different from you, you can show that you follow Jesus. It is not for nought that in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7) Jesus talks so extensively about associating with your fellow-man. And most ‘fruits of the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:22-23) have to do with living with your fellow human beings.