Simply Complex

So who or what do you follow? I've been thinking about this as my class in Polity comes to it's final weeks. The way I see it, Methodist have two books. One is the Bible and the other is the Book of Discipline, aka BOD. Both of these books tell us how to live, what the rules are and what happens if we disobey those rules. One is a love story straight from the heart of God and the other is, well, the Book of Discipline. But together, they help the UM church make disciples of all nations. 

Central UMC in Fayetteville AR

So if we believe that Jesus died for us and lives in us through the Holy Spirit, doesn't that mean we follow Jesus? And in following Jesus we become more and more like him? When we put the "old man" to death, we are saying, "I will not follow the world!" Do I stand in the gap for others who are trying to follow Jesus and take the blow that they might be spared? Is that what Jesus did? I think so. Maybe it starts out small with acts of kindness that don't seem like that big of a deal. It's like Lois becoming my mentor for Master Gardener, taking me to lunch and driving me to the first meeting. It's an act of kindness on her part, but she's doing it because she follows Christ. These acts of kindness turn into standing in the gap for people and making a stand when it comes to what we are called to do. 


Is it easy? No! Does it get easier? Sorta! For me, it's getting easier to be out spoken for Christ. To say things like "I'm not going to answer the phone with 'Happy Holidays', I will say 'Merry Christmas' or I won't answer the phone!" Will I get fired? I don't know, but my job is not as important as my faith in Jesus. It's getting harder to ignore the fact that there are children in my county that need a safe place to grow up in, even if it's for a short amount of time. It's getting harder to buy a ton of worthless presents for people who really don't need a thing. 


Jesus is the source of my ministry, even if that ministry is still in it's formation stages! I want to die to self, so that Jesus can live in me. The incarnation is not only about revealing who God is, it is also about revealing who I am! Jesus is showing us what God intended our lives to look like. It's that simple and that complex. We have to give up to get, we have to put others first, so we can become more like Christ. So I will ask again, who or what are you following?