Why?

"The question of following Jesus maybe isn't so much about how we follow Jesus...maybe the question that most people struggle with is why? Why should I follow this Jesus if this road is so narrow and difficult, why should I follow Him?"

Francis Chan

 As a Christian why should I follow this Jesus the bible talks about? Is it because that's what the church tells me so I should listen? Is it because our parents say it's a good idea and He gives us a great role model? Francis Chan says that if he is perfectly honest he follows Jesus because He said that He was coming back and is going to judge the earth. A very valid response in my opinion as he points out the book of Revelation is terrifying to say the least. A big reason why we as Christian's follow God is due to two things in my opinion. His mighty power and acknowledgement that He is literally in control of everything along with realizing the love He has sent in the form of His Son Jesus Christ. His power and His love drive me into trusting Him with my life. It’s these two things that call me to call Him ‘Lord’ with confidence understanding that it means He’s master over my entire life, even if that means laying down my life. Jesus never promised His disciples that it was going to be an easy road rather He said it was going to be incredibly difficult. The one thing that gets us through this life is knowing He is with us throughout the entire journey.

In the book of Daniel there is a story most Christian’s have heard over and over. In chapter 3 of Daniel we find 3 men whose lives are not going the way they pictured them to go. They were put into positions that would test them and build them into the people that God wanted them to be. Think about it for a second the integrity that these men had. Just put yourself in their shoes! Taken from their home and put under an authority figure who is worshiping other gods and then you’re told that if you don’t bend your knee to this idol that he made your going to be thrown in a furnace in front of everyone. This is the path the Lord took them on as Godly men! They stood up and refused to bow down understanding fully that this would probably lead them to their physical death. They could have sank into the background and just bowed with everyone else and probably got away with it being in a strange place but they couldn’t do it and be right with the Lord. Following the Lord led these 3 men into a furnace, in what should have been their death. Now the Lord did save these 3 men and instead of burning in the furnace they stood with Jesus in the fire. The point that these men and everyone watching, including the King, saw through their obedience? It’s better to be in the fire with Jesus than outside the fire without him. God was showing everyone something in this piece of scripture whether it be the spectator watching, the King raging, or the men standing tall God was speaking! Through the obedience in these men’s lives God showed himself in the bleakest of situations  You see the reason I follow Jesus with my life is that I know that I’d rather be in this world walking the narrow road with him than I would walking the big wide road without Him. It’s worth following Jesus because when you do He walks this road with you. Speaking about this road of following Jesus Francis Chan puts it this way.

“If you follow me it’s not going to be this life of luxury, in fact I don’t even know where I’m going to sleep tonight and not only that people are going to hate you for following me and not only that there’s going to be all these temptations in the world that you’re going to have to fight and all these things and even your own family might be against you. If you follow me you might even end up getting crucified like I’m going to get crucified.” See sometimes we’re not that honest with people. We try to talk people into following Jesus by saying “Hey if you follow Jesus you can be forgiven, you can go to heaven, you can have intimacy with God.” and all those things are true but we neglect this other part that Jesus was very upfront about saying “Look it’s very very difficult to follow Me there’s this wide road that most are going to take this wide and easy road but there’s this narrow road that leads to life very few people will find and it’s a hard path” He says but He also says “I am worth it. I am so worth it.”

He is worth it because He doesn’t make you take this narrow road without help. He walks it with you daily and desires for you to lean on His strength as you combat this world. He gives us a choice of these two roads. One is going to be incredibly difficult but while that may be the case the other one, the easier one, is going to be taken without Him. The road I’m on may be a dangerous one where God could ask me in a minute to do something that scares me to death but at the same time I know He will be with me through it all. That’s why it’s worth every heartache, every pitfall, and every loss because I know that my God is with me! The question is do you believe that it’s better to be “in the fire” with Him than outside it without Him?