“LORD I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THIS WHOLE FOLLOWING THING”

“How do you react when God doesn’t meet your expectations? If you truly accepted the invitation to follow Jesus, you’ll keep going on through hurricanes, hail, and hazardous conditions. If you have simply invited Him to follow you, you’ll bail out at the first sign of bad weather.” ― Mark Batterson, All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life.

Following Jesus is undoubtedly a radical pursuit. Jesus asks us to be willing to give up everything to follow Him and not to be ashamed about it. That information probably prompted some questions about what you are getting yourself into.

When Jesus chose His disciples, what questions popped up in their minds when they heard the “follow me” challenge? What issues concerned them? Practical questions? Personal questions? Priority questions? Questions about inadequacy? Anxiety? What must we know before we leave our beach and boats and follow Jesus? Their questions were probably much like ours today.

For example, why do you want me with all my baggage? Peter was on target when he said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)  Another question is “what made you invite me?”The disciples were not the respected pillars of society. Jesus was not a talent scout but a student of the inner person. He sees potential as to what people may become, and He extends the invitation to join Him.  Another question is, “Where is following you going to take me?” Some people think that following Jesus is adhering to old-fashioned teachings in outdated, irrelevant, relic documents. It is so much more.  It is a relationship with Christ as the way to become what the Lord intended us to be.

An obvious question is, “What happens when I fall flat on my face?” Will God reject me? The first followers fell quite a bit, so we have the assurance that Jesus will also hold on to us. People can grow stronger through hard times, discouragement, and even failure. The disciples experienced all of these but never rejection.  “What are the risks of following You?” There are risks in following Jesus. There is a price for following Jesus.  Are we willing to pay the price?

Following Jesus means thinking His thoughts, loving what He loves, hating what He hates, and having the same desires and goals that He expressed. Those seeking to follow Jesus will eagerly try to follow in His footsteps. To follow Jesus means that we will seek to follow His example in our daily living and let Him be our guide in all that we do.

We aren’t simply floating around aimlessly. We follow Jesus because there is a point to all of this. This entire history of the world is headed somewhere. We can do so with joy because our hope is in a future in the presence of Jesus Christ forever.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does following Jesus mean to you? 
2. Why is it helpful to know more about Jesus to follow Him effectively?  What can we do this week to increase our knowledge of Him?