I’m not a fan of most things. I rarely keep up with celebrities, artists, sports teams, or popular books. I’m just now reading Ayana Mathis’s The Twelve Tribes of Hattie that debut last year, with the Oprah’s seal of approval. (I haven’t actually read it, just checked it out at the library.) Sometimes, for days on end, I stay away from Facebook and Twitter. Even though Scandal is one of my favorite nighttime dramas, I record it and watch it on Friday. Most times, I can live without the television. A fan is an enthusiastic devotee, a fervent, passionate admirer.
When I become a follower on a social media site, I’m merely just a fan, and not as devoted as I should be. Same with sports, I prefer football to basketball, basketball to golf, and tennis to baseball. (I’m only watching the Williams’s sisters. I’m a fan of them.) I simply prefer not to watch baseball on the screen. Please if I must, take me to the ballgame and give me some peanuts and crackerjacks. I can watch sports while I read a magazine, pay bills, fold laundry, or do something else. I can hang out on social media sights for one or two days, maybe a month or two, then I’m done. I’m an admirer of these things, not totally committed.
However, what I’ve discovered is I’m more than a fan for Jesus, but a follower because he’s my savior, Lord over my life. Once I was just a fan. I went to church twice a month, rarely if ever cracked opened the Bible at home. I didn’t memorize scripture or even attempt to understand God’s promises. When I sat in the pew, I heard what the preacher said, but I didn’t listen; I didn’t even search the scriptures for more meaning. But I was a fan, enthusiastic about God, an admirer of Jesus.
Along the way, my life transformed from a fan to a follower, from a spectator to a servant, from an admirer to an imitator.
Here are the signs if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ:
- Followers give Jesus the master key he wants to turn their life upside down.
- Followers give Him more than an hour a week on Sunday.
- A follower’s prayers are more than whispered prayers at night in their bed before going to sleep.
- Followers do not consider God a small box of religion.
- Followers are not defined by their religious credentials.
- Followers do not believe their good deeds get them to heaven.
- Followers have a relationship with Jesus, not simply knowledge but intimacy.
- Followers love him with all their heart.
- Followers have unconditional joy and peace that God is in charge despite the circumstances.
How many lives would change if you followed Jesus? When you stand before God will you be judged as a follower or a fan?