Often, when we see or hear about something, what we saw or heard becomes the standard or the pattern. If we go to a particular Thai restaurant a few times, that becomes the standard for all Thai restaurants for us. If we hear that a friend or family member has a particular experience at a new store we’ve never been to, their experience becomes the standard or pattern for what we think we should expect when we go there.
In the same way, we’ve made some of the Biblical stories patterns
for the Christian life…and we may have done people a disservice in doing so.
Paul’s “Damascus Road” experience, his dramatic conversion complete with ‘sound
and lights,’ has become for many the pattern for how to come to Christ. But,
Scripture does not bear that out. In fact, we don’t see anyone else coming to
Jesus in such a dramatic way. If they had, I’m fairly confident they would have
told that story somewhere along the way.
Likewise, in the Gospels, we see the dramatic response of Peter
and Andrew, James and John, as they drop their nets, their work, their families—everything—and
follow Jesus. While some certainly have “Damascus Road” experiences and some do
leave everything to follow Jesus, the vast majority of us have relatively “tame”
conversion experiences, and we follow Jesus in a very different way.
What does it mean “to follow Jesus”? For the first disciples,
it meant getting in line physically behind the Master and walking the roads of
Judea. For 21st Century disciples, it more often means getting up in
the morning, breathing a prayer of gratitude and asking God how we might live
as Christians in our families, at work, in the classroom, at the park, or wherever
it is we find ourselves that day. Following Jesus is not so much about walking
a geographic path as it is aligning ourselves with Jesus and all he showed us
through his life and teachings. For us today, following Jesus is living daily
lives of goodness, kindness, and gratitude; speaking words of hope, grace, and
peace; taking time to listen, help, and serve others.
How will you respond to Jesus’ call today: “Come, follow me”?
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