Following Side by Side by Kim Reisman

Scripture Focus:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Luke 9:23 (NLT)

Living the Jesus way is never easy. In many parts of the world, surface religious activity can seem acceptable, even easy. In other parts of the world – like those places of persecution we pray for each week – it can be a very dangerous thing. But even in places where following Jesus seems easy, many of our cultures can be resistant and unreceptive to those who take their faith beyond the confines of their homes or houses of worship. So, regardless of whether it’s truly dangerous or whether it’s simply culturally unpopular, faithfully following Jesus can be challenging.

Where I live, shallow, surface following is easy. There’s no danger in attending church. It’s so easy to attend that many of our churches are filled with attendees, and even members, but not necessarily filled with disciples. But simply attending seldom leads to the deep and authentic faith that God desires for each of us. Deep and authentic faith is meaningful; but can also be costly, challenging, even frightening.

Jesus understands our difficulty. He never said it would be easy to follow him; in fact, he warned us about the challenges when he described what it takes to be his follower—putting aside selfish ambition and shouldering our cross.

Rather than inviting us to something shallow, Jesus invites us to experience real, authentic faith – meaningful faith – by following, not at a distance, but by his side. He carries his cross, and we carry ours. For many of us though, Jesus’ words about shouldering our cross have come to represent the bad things in our lives. We see the bad things as unique to our own lives and those bad things become the crosses we have to bear. To be sure, there is an element of truth in this concept of shouldering our cross. Jesus does not desire that we run from suffering. We must deal with it head on and look to God for strength as we persevere.

That truth, however, is only part of what Jesus means when he tells us that to be his followers, we have to shoulder our cross. A deeper meaning lies in how we follow. We are to follow in the same way that Jesus leads. We abandon selfish ambition in favor of service in the Jesus way. As Jesus gave of himself, we give of ourselves. We reach out to others just as he reached out to others. As Jesus loved, so do we love. As Jesus sacrificed himself for us, so do we sacrifice ourselves for others. We follow by picking up the cross. Jesus’ cross becomes our cross; his love becomes our love; his sacrifice becomes our sacrifice.

Peter is one of my favorite disciples. He fumbled and bumbled in following Jesus. He stepped off the boat in faith, only to sink a moment later. On the night Jesus was betrayed Peter followed him into the courtyard but lurked in the shadows for fear of being identified in the light of the fire. He was following, but definitely at a distance. And yet, when he realized that real faith required him to follow Jesus side by side rather than at a distance, Peter’s life was transformed. It wasn’t that difficulty suddenly disappeared; it was that power suddenly appeared.

Jesus promised his disciples power through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8-11). They experienced that power at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) when the Holy Spirit fell upon them all. And how does Peter respond to all this? He preached with boldness and lives were transformed.

It can be risky business to move close to the fire where we might be recognized as followers of Jesus. It can be challenging to carry the cross of Jesus, to go deeper into our faith and follow with greater boldness. Yet when we take that risk and pick up our cross, we are promised the power necessary to meet the challenge. The power of the Spirit of Jesus invigorates us, giving us not only the strength we need to carry the crosses that we encounter in our lives, but the boldness we need to live our lives fully in the light of the fire, recognizable by all as followers of Jesus Christ.

As you pray and fast, reflect on the elements of your life, or circumstances you’ve encountered, that provide the most challenge to you as you follow Jesus. What are the crosses you are bearing? Now think about your experience of power as you follow Jesus. Are you claiming Jesus’ promise? In these days of Lent, I’m praying that God will pour out his Holy Spirit on you as you seek to shoulder the cross of discipleship. That even though difficulty may not disappear, power would appear.