The other day I had an urgent prayer request. As usual I jumped on Twitter to share my request and, as usual, the same 12-14 people promptly replied back with assurances they would pray. I had no doubt they would respond and I had no doubt that they would pray. The problem is that I have almost 400 people following on Twitter (not quite but I like to round up) and I can only really count on a dozen or so when I need encouragement, when I need prayer, and when I just want to have a good Biblical discussion about things.
I think if Jesus walked the earth today as He did in the New Testament times, that He would probably have a parable about Twitter, much like the parable of the soils. I have come to understand to a very, very small degree what Christ sees when He looks at His Church and at those who claim to follow Him.
On Twitter I have several types of followers:
- Those who follow because they see a potential for personal gain (i.e., they have something to market and I am their potential customer)
- Those who follow because I have said something that interested or intrigued them but they really don’t want a relationship, but they are just curious
- Those that follow because they are looking for an argument and see the things I say as a good fodder for a future debate. These are my Twitter Tares-they sneak in under guise of fellowship but only seek to destroy.
- Those that follow because I “amuse” them. They really don’t care about the content as long as it makes them laugh and feel good about themselves. They never show up for the serious theological discussions.
- Those that follow just so I will follow them back. They could care less about me or what I have to say, they just want the prestige of having a big following list.
- Those that follow because they agree with what I say and think similarly, but are unsure and do not want to get involved so they sit back in the shadows and really do not participate other than a little gold star favorite now and then.
- And my favorite group is those that follow because we are like-minded, share the same faith (even with different views on some issues), love God and want to be used for Him and want to truly develop relationships with one another. We pray for each other. We laugh with each other. We cry with each other. We encourage one another. We share the scripture with one another. We do all the “one another” things the New Testament tells us to do. Sadly, this group makes up less than 3-4% of the total of people who “follow” me.
Jesus ministry on earth and even today is much like this whole social media frenzy. If we go back to the New Testament and follow Jesus’ life, we see that he had multitudes who claimed to follow Him, but His followers are much like Church-goers and Twitter followers of today. Not all who claim to “follow” Christ are really following Him for the right reasons. Look at His followers then and now:
- The followers who saw his miracles and wanted a piece of the action. They were just there for the show, but they did not want the message of repentance of sin.
- The followers who saw Christ as a way to get things for free. These were the ones who followed after the loaves and fishes event. When He started talking about being the “bread of life” and no more free meals, they left. These are the modern day “Potluck Christians”—you know the ones who only seem to show up when there is free food.
- The followers who got caught up in the excitement of a growing movement, but the minute persecution showed its ugly head they split in no time at all.
- The followers who wanted the prestige of the movement without the commitment. They never buy into the message and actually seek to destroy those who do buy in. These are the tares and the goats. Among them are those like Judas who will betray for a token reward (times are coming when this will happen here).
- The followers who liked the whole forgiveness aspect of Christ, but when they learned that He was serious about living out lives of holiness and was serious about sin, they really wanted nothing to do with it. These were the folks who witnessed the whole Ananias and Sapphira incident. It says in Acts 5:11 that “a great fear came upon all who heard these things,” and in verse 13 it says, “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.”
- The followers who were totally committed to Him and understood what it meant to “follow Him”, and even when persecution began at the trial and crucifixion of Christ, they remained faithful and followed (we see these in Acts 1:15 where there was about 120 of the true “brethren” there. Out of all those multitudes this is what remained.)
- Lastly there is the “inner circle followers”. These are those among the faithful that the Lord specifically called to his side to train and disciple so they could minister to His church. Even within that group there were three who were even closer to the Lord (Peter, James and John).
My question to you is this: What type of follower are you? Are you following Christ because it’s trendy? Are you following Him in the background but are not really involved? Are you just following Him for what you can get out of it, or are you following Him because He is the LORD? If persecution comes will you be faithful to Him or run away and shrivel up like the seed on rocky soil? Is following Christ just a passing fad in your life, or is it the only way of life?
These are important questions because not all who claim to follow Him actually are true followers. Jesus said; “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). There is more to following Christ than just putting your name on the list, clicking a link, saying a prayer or showing up in church once in a while. Following Christ is a full time commitment. It involves putting ourselves aside so that He is the one who receives the glory and He works in and through us to do His good pleasure.
Check your “follow” status today and make sure you are a true Follower of Jesus Christ and not just one in name only.
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