The great Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, once told a story of a flock of geese that was starting to head south to escape the blast of wintry winds. The first night they landed in a farmer’s yard and filled themselves with corn. Next morning they flew on--all, that is, except one. "The corn is good," this big goose said, "so I will stay and enjoy it another day." The next morning he decided to wait still another day, and another after that, enjoying the delicious food. Pretty soon he had developed a habit. "Tomorrow I will fly south," he said. Then came the inevitable day when the winds of winter were so severe that waiting longer would mean freezing to death. So he stretched his wings and waddled across the barnyard, picking up speed as he went. But sadly, he was too fat to fly. He had waited too long.
Are you a procrastinator? I have to admit that I often am. Sometimes it really doesn’t matter much, but there are other areas in life that do matter and that is especially true in the area of giving attention to growing as a follower of Jesus.
One of the common invitations of Jesus, especially in the Gospel of Matthew, is the call to "Follow Me." Seems simple enough. But, like many of those original listeners, we find some way to either miss the call, delay the call, or avoid the call by trying to unpack it in ways that might seem a bit more palatable. We are especially good at rationalizing. We invest a lot of time evaluating the meaning of this statement – “Follow Me.” What is the intent? Did Jesus really mean it? Is this merely hyperbole?
Jesus says, "Follow Me,"-- but we question the consequences of such an action. If we really pushed this in the church we could easily upset people, lose members and cause division. After all, it is clear that the Kingdom Jesus talks about is at odds with the “kingdom” that is me. And then there are the many ways that Jesus’ call to discipleship challenges the consumerist, entertainment-oriented, self-absorbed society in which we live. But Jesus says: “Follow Me.”
Jesus says, "Follow Me" –And we think that maybe we should slow down a bit and discuss this another time. Really, it isn’t a convenient time. There is my family, my friends, my job, my classes, my career, etc. etc. There just isn’t time.
Jesus says, "Follow Me" -- but we think we should conduct a study and then we can react with more information. Let’s parse those words. What did they mean in the first century context in which Jesus’ lived. What is the truth, the meaning behind those words. We need to study this invitation more.
Jesus says, "Follow Me" – and we wonder: but what will it cost in dollars? This is especially true for churches. Our budget is already so tight. To follow Jesus may mean that we have to re-evaluate our budget priorities and what we are spending our money on and that can be an unsettling thing to do. Let’s face it, there are pet ministries and things we have always done that might need to be set aside or scaled back if we “follow” Jesus. That might not make some people, influential people, too happy. No, we need more time to think this through, especially the financial cost.
And in the midst of all our deliberation and procrastination, it is as if God says to us: "For Jesus' sake, and your own, just follow HIM."
Scot McKnight is a professor of Religious Studies at North Park University. He has written a lot about what it means to follow Jesus. His books are not always easy to read. They can be quite disturbing, especially for those of us who feel that we have Jesus all worked out.
In a recent book, One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow, he tries to answer a very basic question: What is a Christian? And his basic answer is that a Christian is someone who follows Jesus. That sounds simple enough and not too different from what many of us have heard in church, Sunday School, in popular Christian devotion books, etc.
But McKnight wants to remind us that following Jesus is more than making a decision to accept Jesus. It involves a life-long journey that is committed to embracing and sharing Jesus’ kingdom vision. It is easy to get stuck at the beginning of the Christian life – having made a decision, been baptized, even pretty regular at church and still not get it. It is easy to procrastinate about moving on and following Jesus in all areas of life. Only that is enough to satisfy our deepest longings and fulfill the purpose of our existence. And only that is “following Jesus”
This is the way McKnight puts it: “Christianity isn’t enough. Religion isn’t enough. Being accepted in a church isn’t enough. Climbing the corporate ladder isn’t enough. Solving intellectual problems isn’t enough. Chasing the American dream isn’t enough. Finding the person to love isn’t enough. Sex isn’t enough. Friends aren’t enough. Science isn’t enough. Politics isn’t enough. Money isn’t enough. Clothing isn’t enough. Food and drink aren’t enough. The only thing that is enough is Jesus, and the only way to get to Jesus is to follow him, and that means one thing: giving your One.Life to him and to his dream.”
The point is that the call to “follow me” is a radical call. Jesus wants far more than to be accepted into one’s life. He wants to take over, and his essential call is to trust him enough to surrender one’s life, one’s entire being to him. And as we do that, we are swept up by that which consumed Jesus’ life – the kingdom of God, the will of God done in all areas of life.
To say “yes” to Jesus and not embrace this radical call but instead to piddle around with a safe, culturally inoffensive, tame church life is to miss the point of Jesus’ invitation. And the sad thing about it is that one day we might find ourselves like the goose at the beginning of this Musing – unable to fly, too fat, too tied to the earth to fulfill our calling and purpose.
Do you hear Jesus’ invitation – “Follow Me.” Don’t procrastinate.
