Following
Who do you follow?
That question can be received in a couple different ways. Does it mean, who do I follow on social media? Or who do I follow in my day-to-day life?
The question of “who do I follow” makes me think about how incredibly different each method of following is. Reflect with me on how different online versus in-person, authentic following are and the fruits of each.
Following someone online uses a sequence of events similar to the following (no pun intended):
I scroll, I like, then swipe, love, scroll, watch a video, like, scroll, glimpse, scroll, glimpse, read a headline, scroll, read a brief article, scroll.
During this time of following, time mysteriously passes by, and I’m left feeling a bit empty. Not really fulfilled. I’m following this person asynchronously. So while I was following another’s life and actions, there was no reciprocated action on the other person’s part. It was not relational. This method of "following" is a passive approach to the word.
Now let’s change gears and reflect on following an actual person in our lives. To make a comparison as polar opposite as possible, let’s compare that online person to someone we can all relate to following: Jesus. When we are following Jesus, a variety of words and methods come to mind: praise, wonder, abide, renew, gaze, ponder, be filled up, peace, love, consolation, encouragement. Time passes by and I feel seen, heard, loved. This following is not one-sided at all. There’s someone on the other side following me back in all His divinity! This method of following gets better the more active my approach is.
For some reason, the Holy Spirit nudged me to write about following this week. Maybe it’s because this time of year provides many reasons why I need to keep my eyes on Christ. The school year draws to a close and spring activities increase exponentially. Who I follow matters more and more.
Jesus holds records for the most followers for many good reasons. “Upright is the word of the Lord, and all His works are trustworthy,” we sing in Sunday’s Psalm 33. We can trust Jesus when He tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” (John 14:1) And what about subscribing to Jesus when He says “I am the way and the truth and the life”? (John 14:6) His way leads to the Truth. And Truth leads to fullness of life. I don’t know about you, but I realize that the times that I’m following Jesus at too far of a distance are the times that I feel the most uncertain, the most weak, or the most fearful.
Let’s decrease our following distance from Jesus. He’s the only One with Real GPS anyway. May not our hearts be troubled. May we turn to Him and follow Him because He is the Way and the Truth and the Life.