CONSUMER OR FOLLOWER? | Northstar Church

“Following Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are.”― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God.

The crowds loved Jesus. And why not? Every day, Jesus would perform a miracle. He healed sick people, cast out demons, stilled storms, and brought people back from the dead, and the people loved it. One day, He even fed thousands of them with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Life was good. You could watch Jesus do His thing and get fed. At one point, however, Jesus calls the crowd out in John 6:26: “…I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.”

Jesus knew that the crowds could be fickle and were entertained by His miracles. They didn’t understand what it meant to follow Him. They were just consumed with what He could do for them. Later on in John 6, the crowds showed their true colors and walked away from Jesus: “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him” (vs 66). Apparently, the novelty had worn off, and Jesus wasn’t entertaining them enough anymore.

Have you ever really thought about why you want to be with Jesus? Is it just for the next miracle He might provide, the next blessing, or the presumed freebies you expect to get as a follower of Jesus? Consumers want to be with Jesus for the free perks of the relationship. They want to be with Jesus for what’s in it for them.

Followers of Jesus are different. They want to be with Jesus not primarily for what He does for them but for who He is. They want to follow Him because He is the risen Son of God. His resurrection compels them to trust in Him as God and is worthy of our love, worship, and obedience. The beauty of the Gospel is that in trusting Jesus, they find that He pours into them more than they could have expected or hoped for.

Matthew 14:22-36 tells the story of Peter walking on water with Jesus. Imagine if you were in this situation. We are the disciples, the boat is our comfort zone, and the lake is the tumultuous situation we encounter. Jesus walks above our difficulty and invites us to walk above it all with Him. As human beings, we can often be skeptical about leaving our comfort zone. But that is the only way to grow in a relationship with Christ. When we get out of the boat, we often forget who invited us and get scared. Jesus is ready to pull you out of that place and help you grow. The key to all of this is accepting His hand of help. Recognize that you are not strong enough to fix yourself, and let Christ help you grow. We follow Him because He wants to help us grow in our relationship with Him.

Decide to bring God into all aspects of your life. Don’t just reserve Him for Sunday service or prayer before a meal. You can be with God when you’re walking, reading, Bible journaling, creating art, playing in the sand, driving, etc. Think of God as the best Father you could ever have—one who cares about you and wants to spend time with you.

Discussion Questions:

Jesus gives us an implied choice: to follow or not. How do you choose to follow Jesus daily?
How much of your time, attention, energy, etc., does following Jesus get from you?