And he said to him, 'Follow me.'

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. (Luke 5:27-28 ESV)

Three years ago, Relevant magazine (whose target audience is "twenty- and thirtysomething Christians") published an article by Baptist pastor David Platt (founder of Radical ministry resources, one of which is the very cool concept of something they call Secret Church) entitled What Does It Mean to REALLY Follow Jesus? I couldn't help but reflect on this particular part:

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the eager followers of Jesus in the first century. This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.
   

But we don’t want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. 
   

And this is where we need to pause. Because we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.


A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, He loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream. 


But do you and I realize what we are doing? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.

What DOES it mean to follow Jesus? Could anyone today truly be like the tax collector who responds to Jesus' exhortation to "Follow me." by dropping everything and doing just that? For so many of us with good intentions, the response in our hearts is not unlike that of the tax collector, but our resolve has the shelf-life of a New Year's resolution. Following Jesus, in the truest sense of the word, is much easier said than done.

This new year, my wife and have made a commitment to change the direction of our lives-- not a New Year's resolution, but a decision to follow our hearts and our faith.

Yesterday, I resigned my teaching position (effective the last day of school) and plan to finish a year of seminary, followed by a one-year internship assigned to a congregation somewhere, followed by-- if this is still God's plan-- ordination. As I was writing out my resignation letter, I kept thinking about where I was 15 years ago, when I thanked God for the job I was offered by my district (after months of searching desperately...having to borrow money from family to stay afloat). I have never resigned from a job before-- it was a bitter sweet experience.

On the heels of my decision (our decision) to resign, my wife learned that she would be receiving a healthy promotion at work, adding another item to the growing list of logistical things to consider before I (or we) show up at the seminary's doorstep, having left behind a comfortable way of life in the midst of family, friends, and good jobs.

Following Jesus is not easy. In a way, it's even a little scary, to commit ourselves in a way we have not done before. But we trust in God, that it is His doing, not ours, that He has provided for us all along and will continue to do so. We are making this transition knowing we are in His hands.

No following Jesus is not easy. But I've never been surer of anything in my life.