I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

"Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" --Luke 9:23-25

The definition of a mystic reads as follows:

A person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

 In the last few months I have really thought long and hard about what it is to follow Jesus. The average institutional church tells us to follow Jesus all the time. Often times people equate being saved with following Jesus, that is, if you are saved you will follow Jesus, or if you don't follow Jesus, you aren't saved and going to hell.

If that was the case, Jesus would have told everyone to follow him or they would all burn in hell, in no uncertain terms. But He didn't. Instead, he gave strict warning and a preview of what would lie in store for those who did follow Him. He urged people to reconsider their lives and what they really wanted before they made the decision to do so.

He sent a rich young ruler away in sorrow as he would not sell what he had. He sent a man home because he wanted to wait for his father's passing. He told in many different ways, parables and teachings the warnings of following Him.

To follow Him meant to give up everything. It meant to literally lay your life in the hands of God. And, He had no problem turning would-be followers away. He would have preferred that people go back to their homes and their ordinary lives in this world. Simply put, Jesus stated in more or less words that following Him is not for the fainthearted and those who have busy lives in the things of this world.

So then this causes me to reexamine the teachings I got from the institutional Church. I was brought up with the teaching "Follow Jesus or burn in hell." If that was the case many Christians aren't going to be in heaven as they do not leave everything behind, they work, have families, have mortgages and all the trappings of this world.

I really don't believe that Jesus meant to communicate this. He was calling people to live a life as He did, having no place to lay their head, having nothing in this world, being free to move at the wind of God as it moved them, no questions asked.

The apostles were such people. They had power and authority like no other. Not all were called to the life of the apostle. Not all were called to follow Jesus. There is an account where one man is denied the gift of the Holy Spirit to do this work because of his heart and motives.

In my personal journey, I came to a point where I could choose. I could choose to live the normal life, eking out an existence in the job market, having a house and the comfortable work life of the average American, or I could go for broke and REALLY follow Jesus.

My problem is, now, dear reader, that I have gone past the point of no return. I have chosen to really follow what Jesus taught and said. I have chosen to put all of my stake in the treasures of Heaven, to live a life that is born from above and not of this world. I have chosen the life of faith, falling into the hands of God wherever He might lead. The problem is, I have met God on a very profound level and have seen too much to ever want to go back to the ordinary life most people live.

Make no mistake, dear reader, I am not telling you that I am somehow above the rest of the world, or even above other Christians. If you work a regular job, have your house and car and such, fine. You do well. Keep that. You are not condemned and you aren't any less valuable to your loving Father.

But there is an invitation to move beyond that if one so chooses. There is an invitation to give all of that up and move to a place where we may be poor, we may suffer, we may be homeless, despised and cast out in this world as Jesus was for the greater glory that lies beyond this life.

So my conclusion is that there are two kinds of Christians. There are the saved, that is, they have believed unto salvation, have received Jesus Christ, have known God's love and there they live. And then there are the mystics, or those who drink of the deeper life. They are those who abandon the things of this world and follow hard after the heart of God. They drink deeply from His cup, from the well within that gushes forth living water. They hear deeply within their hearts, the voice of God.

Make no mistake though, I am not appealing to mysticism as the world states it as such. I make it very clear that the only true mystic is the Christian, as one cannot know the Father without knowing the Son. So many self proclaimed mystics from other religions won't get along with me as they wish to be included in this spiritual state. They are the thieves who break in and do not enter through the sheep gate.

This life then, dear reader, is not something to be coveted. I would sound the same warnings that Jesus gave in living this life. This life is wild. This life is not safe. This life is not comfortable. You will be scrutinized, judged, accused, abandoned and hurt. You may lose everything. You may die young. You may go without. You may be homeless. But there is a promise of a special reward in heaven for those who do pursue this life. There is a pay off on the other side, as we know our true treasures in Heaven.

I echo Jesus' words when He said "Many are called, but few are chosen. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Jesus does not judge those who are not chosen. He simply tells them that they are not cut out for this work and tells them to go home.

So I will be so bold as to say that following Jesus is NOT for everyone, contrary to the institutional belief. Following Jesus is a gutsy, bold move, risking everything. And there is no judgment on those who do not wish to.

Those who do not wish to, I say enjoy your lives, live them to the fullest whatever brings you joy. Love your families, love your friends and neighbors, and even still you can shine the light of His Love wherever you might find yourself. You aren't asked to witness. You aren't a part of the Great Commission as many would have you think. Not every Christian is called to be a missionary as the Institution would tell you. Some are called just to stay home and live their lives. God supports and loves both kinds of Christians. The Great Commission was for those who walked intimately with Jesus, received this power to work real miracles and walk apart from the rest of the world. Not all Christians have that.