Admiration

Do you admire Jesus?

There are a lot of fans of Jesus, of God, of religion and spirituality and doing the right thing and volunteering or standing up for those whose rights are being trampled and loving others and being a good example or the right kind of Christian according to whatever box you can fit that into…

But are you just a fan-or are you on the team?

Regarding the life of an admirer, in the book Story: Recapturing the Mystery, there is a quote that reads as follows:

Soren Kierkegaard states: "The difference between an admirer and a follower still remains, no matter where you are. The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, he is inexhaustible about how highly he prizes Christ, he renounces nothing, gives up nothing, will not reconstruct his life, will not be what he admires, and will not let his life express what it is he supposedly admires."

When I read these words, I had to ask myself---am I an admirer, or a follower?
I don’t think Jesus is impressed with my “fan” collection of Bibles, books, etc…I have a lot of memorabilia, that fits into the books or study guides I like to read, the notes I’ve taken, the ideas I write down-but it’s all just a collection of stuff, isn’t it…

Jesus didn’t say, “admire me”, kind-of like me but still do your own thing…do it as you’re comfortable…


As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea… And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Mark 1:16-18


Immediately, they left it behind to follow Jesus…
Follow Him where? And left what behind?

Their lives, their ways, their hurt and rejection and family and friends and everything they were to follow…

To follow Him to the cross, to die to themselves and live for God, to follow God’s will

Follow me, says Jesus-be on my team.
Follow me to death and ultimately to life

The road starts right here, right now with each decision we make
On Sunday mornings we can make the decision as well with the cup the bread—living the life, not admiring but living…

“This do in remembrance of me”

Each day, I try hard to remember that I need to be on God’s team, striving each and every second to trust and obey.

Not to enshrine, not to be a fan…
Not to admire, but to follow