Unlearning to follow Jesus

Recovering from following a fake Jesus.

I’m 35 years old now. I was 29 years old when I first published this post and for the last ten, now fifteen or so years of my life, I’ve been unlearning what it means to follow Jesus. I needed to revisit this because it’s as if it’s happening all over again. I grew up thinking that following the Christ meant denouncing what I perceived as evil in the world.

If I knew of someone who had an abortion I’d look down on them because they had destroyed human life. If someone was a pill head, I wouldn’t go out of my way to help because in my mind they were making the decision to destroy themselves. I figured their life was in their own hands. If someone was a Democrat, I couldn’t stomach to associate with them because they supposedly stood against all things Jesus stood for and let’s not even get into alcohol. If you chose to drink alcohol you might as well have been drinking the blood of Lucifer himself.

That’s the Jesus I grew up with.

But that’s not the Jesus I follow today.

I have been unlearning the Jesus I grew up with and instead trying to learn about the Jesus that the Bible really describes.

It seems like the only people that the Jesus of the Bible railed against were religious elite like myself.

Around the age of 20 I found myself in a group of people that I’m sure Jesus would have had not so nice words with.

My way was play by our rules or else…

But Jesus said, “My way is easy and my burden is light. Follow me and I’ll give you life.” I was hellbent on destroying lives and Jesus is bent on saving them. These days I’m confident that Jesus would charge the gates of hell with a water gun to save the lives of those that I would once have adamantly condemned.

The Jesus I grew up with was in the business of sealing people in hell for the way they lived their lives but I’ve unlearned to follow that Jesus.

The Jesus I see in scripture and the one I have relearned to follow today is in the business of rescuing people.

He’s in the business of giving people something to live for that’s more than just themselves.

He’s in the business of helping mothers who’ve aborted babies discover life again.

He’s in the business of helping pill heads break out of the bondage of death.

He’s in the business of helping Republicans and Democrats see the things that God actually cares about and funny enough, it doesn’t seem to be about being the one in power.

The Jesus I follow today,

He’s in the business of turning this plain old water life into sweet wine that he’s claimed He’ll enjoy with us when we see him again.

That’s the Jesus I follow today and I love him for it.

6 years later

The Jesus who came to earth surrendered his power to actually gain it, traded being in power for loving God and loving his neighbor, and while I think that ultimately got him crucified, he still won in the end when nothing else could. I feel like we live in a world plagued by the religious elite trading religious power in place of people.

And that’s really interesting because Jesus didn’t seem to rail against the sinners of the time, many whom he actually set free and healed. He didn’t disregard people because he was trying to gain power. What he seemed to rail against was religious elitism. This compulsory force that was actually trading religious power in place of people and I’m afraid that’s still happening today.

The Jesus I once followed would have led me to believe that Christians needed to be in power for good to happen in the nation I live in, or across the world. But I don’t believe that’s true. And I certainly don’t want anything to do with the interpretation of Jesus that portrays itself as taking things by force or making decisions based on fear that’s so common today.

I also in the last 6 years shed this idea that I need to stand up for Jesus and often people confuse living like Jesus for standing up for Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need to be stood up for. Jesus is the LION of the tribe of Judah. You don’t need to defend lions. They’re pretty capable themselves.

I pray for the day that we, together in communion with one another, truly love people as much as we do God because I know some incredible things will happen when that day comes.