Who Do You Follow?

By Michael Griego on May 30, 2025 • ( 0 )

We make choices reflecting our values in whom and what causes we follow. How committed are you to whom or what you follow? Is it truly worthy of your devotion and attention?

In the social media realm we all “follow” some individuals or areas of interest and support. Sometimes our “following” of some one person or some cause is merely casual or a function of popularity or following the herd.

It’s not like our life depends on it

In a recent post (Easter and Popular Jesus), a research study by Barna Group cites that 66% of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus that is still important in their life today. This is up from 54% from 2021 when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking.¹

The study goes on to point out that the resurgence of spiritual renewal and popularity of Jesus is being led by younger generations, specifically by young men (Gen Z and Millennials, today ages 10 to 41).

Biblical Case Study
In the BIble, John the Baptist, himself at age 30, gave advance testimony to the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Promised Messiah. John had quite a following of his own, although many around him were still grappling with who he was and why was he baptizing if he was not the Christ himself, nor Elijah, nor the prophet spoken of by Moses.

John’s purposeful ministry launch was full of questioning and misunderstanding by many around him.

But John was clear on the One who was to be followed. “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29) he exclaims before two of his disciples as they watch Jesus walk by. The two disciples immediately leave John and they follow Jesus. With no disrespect toward John, they actually heed his call and redirect their own life focus.

This is the impact that Jesus had on those around him then as well as today. The gathering and building of his original team of disciples plays out as these drafted men are attracted and compelled to leave their world behind and follow him blindly.

While it ultimately cost them their lives, their selected wisdom and discernment at that moment served them well in truth and history.

Who Do We Follow?
We follow friends, leaders, idols and would-be political and social kings and princes and princesses. We can disassociate from even family and close friends and direct our attention and focus on what can ultimately prove fleeting, light and even empty. Our allegiances reflect our own personal wisdom and discernment at crucial junctions in life.

Is our judgment sound, wise and large, or frivolous, foolish and small?

Both Jesus and John command full attention toward the One who is the Christ, the one whose sandals John says he’s “not worthy to untie.” John and his disciples knew it and acted accordingly. It reflects their mettle, passion and ultimate path.

Following Jesus. Really?
When a rich young man approached Jesus (Mark 10:17-29) his goal was information to secure “eternal life.” At Jesus’ leading, the young man considered the commandments that he felt should curry favor:

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Upon being told by Christ to “sell everything you have and give to the poor…and come and follow me” the young man “went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

This is a lesson in heart-devotion, not a call to human charity.

At another time when asked which was the greatest commandments, Jesus answered:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:30-31)

The rich young man had a stark choice: follow (love) the One who is the Christ (the Lord God) with all his heart and soul (more than his wealth), or not.

He chose poorly, a reflection of a less than fully committed heart. God wants our heart, not our money. He wants our full commitment, not our inclinations or good intentions.

“Yes, but…”
At the end of Luke chapter 61, Jesus is walking on the road with a group of people.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 61:57-62)

Oswald Chambers, the great 20th century Scottish missionary, strongly addresses this issue of “Yes, I will follow you, Jesus, but first let me focus on my other priorities that make more common sense.”

Suppose God tells you to do something that doesn’t square with your common sense. What are you going to do? Hang back? If this is your inclination, watch out. If you develop the habit of avoidance in your physical life, the habit will rule you until you break it. The same is true in your spiritual life. Again and again you will come to what Jesus Christ wants from you, and again and again you will turn back. “But suppose I obey God in this matter,” you say. “What about my concerns? I can only obey God if his command follows common sense. Don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”

Jesus Christ demands that we display the same reckless, daring attitude in spiritual life that the boldest among us display in natural life. If you’re going to do anything worthwhile, sometimes you have to risk everything and leap. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you leap into what he says, risking everything common sense has taught you. The instant you do, you’ll find that his command makes perfect spiritual sense.

Measured by the standard of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem insane. But if you measure them by the standard of faith, you will find that they are the words of God. Trust entirely in God, and when he brings you to the precipice of a challenge . . . leap. We act like pagans in a crisis: only one in a crowd is daring enough to risk everything on the character of God.²

Yes, God/Jesus wants our heart, our soul, and our mind. It’s not about our money, or our lip service. He wants our full sold-out commitment, not our lukewarm nod of approval. He wants our right devotion, not our good deeds. John the Baptist understood this, as did early disciples. In fact, they died for their devotion and faith in Christ.

They died following the One that was worthy of such devotion.

Who are you really following? Are they worthy? Are you truly following?_______________________________
“Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. – John 1:36-37

¹New Research: Belief in Jesus Rises, Fueled by Young Adults, Barna Group, https://www.barna.com/research/belief-in-jesus-rises/, April 7, 2025.

²“Yes, But…!” in My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935, May 30, p. 160.