FOLLOWING
"As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him" Matthew 20:29
There's "following" and then there's "following". If, when you refer to "following", you mean drawing a crowd, a group of interested onlookers, then Jesus was both extremely successful and unbelievably disinterested. He could draw a crowd at the drop of a hat. Perform a miracle. Heal a blind man. Feed 5,000 with a box lunch. The list goes on and on. Instant crowd. An instant following.
Yet, as soon as the crowds gathered Jesus would say something that would turn them away as fast as they got there. You and I would probably relish the crowds and strategize how to get past the next growth barrier. But, not Jesus. He wasn't looking for a crowd....for followers. He was looking for people who would actually follow him.
So, the question that faces each of us at the beginning of this journey is, "Am I a part of the crowd, or am I actually following?" Put another way, "Am I a FAN or a FOLLOWER?"
There's "following" and then there's "following". If, when you refer to "following", you mean drawing a crowd, a group of interested onlookers, then Jesus was both extremely successful and unbelievably disinterested. He could draw a crowd at the drop of a hat. Perform a miracle. Heal a blind man. Feed 5,000 with a box lunch. The list goes on and on. Instant crowd. An instant following.
Yet, as soon as the crowds gathered Jesus would say something that would turn them away as fast as they got there. You and I would probably relish the crowds and strategize how to get past the next growth barrier. But, not Jesus. He wasn't looking for a crowd....for followers. He was looking for people who would actually follow him.
So, the question that faces each of us at the beginning of this journey is, "Am I a part of the crowd, or am I actually following?" Put another way, "Am I a FAN or a FOLLOWER?"
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