JOIN MY EMAIL LIST FOR CONTENT UPDATES
Following Jesus is not complicated or confusing. You need only know a few simple truths and practice a few simple actions. Yet it does not happen by accident just like physical health or a good marriage does not happen by accident. Here are a few key steps to remember:
- Learn the Gospel of Jesus.
- Develop a Relationship with Jesus.
- Embrace the Story of Jesus.
- Join the People of Jesus.
- Repeat.
Learn the Gospel of Jesus. “Gospel” simply means good news. This news is far better than news on T.V. or the Web. So the Gospel of Jesus = Jesus’ good news. First and foremost, Christianity does not tell you to stop lying or don’t steal—rather, it tells you a story. This story is about the way God interacted with people throughout history before Jesus. This story is about God keeping his promises to them through Jesus. Jesus is the “yes” to God’s promises. God chose to interact and make promises for people to receive his blessing and joy.
What is the best part? All are invited into this story to receive this joy and new life. He died for you so you can live.
Develop a Relationship with Jesus. After learning the Gospel, then pray to him. Close the doors, clear the table, and speak to Jesus. Ask him to be with you, to teach you how to live, to teach you about himself, and to give you mature Christians from which you can learn. Your relationship with Jesus is like any other relationship—it grows through time. This growth is not automatic—you must be intentional. Spend time alone and speak with Jesus. As you draw near to Jesus, he is certainly drawing near to you.
Embrace the Story of Jesus. This point is all about listening. It involves learning the biblical story-line, studying how God has acted through history, internalizing what he has said in history, and understanding how we can uniquely participate in that story. This also takes time and, believe me, growth will be slow. There are four basic parts to the story:
- Creation: God created the world to be good—to be filled with his presence.
- Fall: Humans redefined good according to their own desires—now it is not as good as it could be. As you know, some parts are very bad.
- New Creation Begun: God uses people to begin recreating what he intended. God has begun putting the world right through Jesus. Before Jesus, God worked “through” the ancient Israelites to prepare the world for Jesus. When Jesus died, he paid the penalty for our fall. When Jesus Resurrected, he began the new creation.
- New Creation Completed: One day, the world will be filled with people having new bodies that cannot rot or break. All people will represent and express God as God intended. The earth with be remade so that it is perfectly fit for these “new kinds of people.” And we will see God, himself, face to face in Jesus Christ. His hand will wipe your tears away and his presence will grow your joy more and more each day.
We are in part three heading to part four. This means that those who embrace Jesus’ story live new lives by turning from what is destructive and by turning to Jesus receiving his life-giving presence to live as God intended.
Join the People of Jesus. Following Jesus alone is an oxymoron. When I first began to follow Jesus, I went through a season where I tried to be a loner. The issue? People are created for people. God’s ways create unity and joy which cannot happen when you are alone.
Therefore, if you are trying to live a “loner” life or if you are trying to follow Jesus alone, stop.
Be brave. Stop watching so much T.V. and YouTube (while they are fun, too much dehumanizes you). Seek out a church that loves Jesus and the Bible. Find some people with which you can do life. And enjoy.
Repeat. It is simple. Keep doing the steps above.
Enjoy the good life. Look forward to your best life on the new earth. And share the love.
Thanks for Reading,
Aaron