“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” (Jude 1:21 NLT)
Whenever we enter a relationship with anyone, whether personal friendship or a business relationship, we come with certain expectations. Typically, in a formal contract, things will be spelled out, hopefully, to the understanding and agreement of all parties. But in friendship, unless entering into a marital commitment, our expectations are, hopefully shared, but usually unwritten.
Why does that matter? Largely, even if written, our expectations are personal and sometimes not clearly stated, thus opening the door to misunderstanding. For example, we may be sharing an apartment with a friend, and we’ve “agreed” to share expenses for groceries. Things go well for a while, until you begin to see what your $150 a week for groceries is actually buying.
You’re a “meat and potatoes” kind of person, but your roommate is more the “Caviar and Wine” type, so out of your $150 weekly grocery bill, only about $63 is yours and the rest theirs. So, you go to them and say: “Whoa! This isn’t what I signed up for!” While that’s a real problem, in some ways it’s not unlike what we do with the Lord.
Of course, with the Lord, He lays it all out from the beginning: “You get all of me, and I get all of you!” Having followed the Lord for many years, I’ve discovered He always gets the short end of the proverbial “stick.” But initially, it can be confusing to us.
We REALLY like our sin, so much so, we don’t want to give it up. But the Lord comes to us one day and says, “Remember when I told you: ‘When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!’ But you’re not following My directives. You need to make up your mind whose terms you’re going to follow, Mine or yours!”
Notice Jesus says in John 15:10 (above paragraph) “WHEN” not “IF” you obey My commandments:” To believe we can come to Christ, be forgiven of our sins, and have a promise of eternal life without submitting to Christ’s authority and obeying Him, is to believe a lie of the devil. Jared C. Wilson wrote: “If you will have Jesus on your own terms, it’s not Jesus that you have, but an idol.”
Perhaps that’s why people get disappointed with “following” Jesus, it’s not the Jesus of the Bible they’re following, it’s some construction of Jesus we’ve made up in our own mind or been given to us by a “friend” or follower of a non-Christian cult.
Jesus says very clearly what it will cost us to follow Him. In Luke 9:23 the Bible says: “Then He (Jesus) said: ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’”
Here’s the truth: with Jesus, the only “terms” that matter are the ones He gives us. We either accept them or try to find another way to heaven. Personally, I’ve found that just following Him is a much easier way than trying to find a way on our own, a way, by the way, that doesn’t exist. Besides, He’s a very loving and kind Guide.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 