They're STILL talking about it!

My Belief

I was sick this week. It really sucked! All I did for the better part of a week was lay on the couch and stare at the television. As I was channel surfing for days, I noticed a common theme. Simply put, JESUS is everywhere. Steven Colbert’s main story was about how Jesus was liberal or something crazy like that. Bill O’reilly was reporting that his Catholic education of Jesus is more believable than Bill Maher’s bashing of Christians. A few weeks ago I remember a story about the largest statue of Jesus ever being erected in Poland. I also remember on one of my flights a few weeks ago, my flight attendant handed me a magazine that had on it’s cover something derogatory like “Jesus the love machine”.

This is all very interesting to me. Jesus is everywhere - He is on TV, magazines, and on the lips of people everywhere. This leads me to an interesting thought. If Jesus was just a fad or a good man than why nineteen hundred and seventy nine years after his death is everyone still talking about him? I would venture to say that just about everybody in the world at least has an idea of who Jesus is or was. If he was just a good man then why is everyone not also regularly talking about Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or saint Nicholas? If he was just a wise man than why do we not daily continue to discuss Aristotle, Plato, or Einstein? I love the way C.S. Lewis describes Jesus in his book “Mere Christianity”. To sum it up he basically says Jesus did not leave us the option to call Him a good man or good teacher. C.S. Lewis basically says that with everything Jesus said about himself he can only be 1. A raving lunatic, 2. The Devil himself, or 3. The Lord God almighty. You can decide which, but Jesus intentionally did not leave us any other options.

Scripture

Matthew 24:35

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Application for Life

If you actually look, then you will be forced to concede that Jesus is still everywhere. Whether it is in reverence or jest, his images and and words are littered across our planet. We can’t say this about any other historical figure from any facet of existence. Any objective thinking person would want to at least poke at Jesus a little bit. They would want to sort of dig around and get to the bottom of exactly who this character is or was. I think that just looking at the fact that He is still all over our planet after almost 2000 years begs one to realize that in itself is somewhat supernatural and worth a deeper investigation.

Leadership vs. Followership

My Belief

Not many things will ruin a trip faster than a 3 1/2 striper! This is a First Officer that steps all over the Captain’s leadership. In the rank and file system of the airlines the Captain wears 4 stripes on his uniform and the First Officer wears 3. First Officers that over step their bounds get all sorts of nick-names. “Right seat Captains”, “Captain Co-Pilot” and of course “3 1/2 stripers”.  No matter what you call them, they always conjure the same thoughts to people in the business of aviation. These thoughts include someone who is arrogant, someone who does not respect the Captain’s authority, and someone who is usually in disagreement with even the simplest instructions or decisions. They are usually way more versed on what the Captain should be doing and much less proficient at doing their own job in supporting the Captain. The quality that these particular individuals are missing is called “Followership”.

To be a good follower on the flight deck means to assist the Captain in safely operating a flight and being able to proficiently carry out the tasks that are assigned.  I recently flew with a First Officer that exhibited all the symptoms of a 3 1/2 Striper and it hit me that this is exactly what I and so many other Christians do to the Lord Jesus. How often do I wrap my fingers around the steering wheel of my own life and say, “OK God, I will take it from here!” I and every other Christian are here to carry out the tasks that are assigned to us in the Bible by Captain Jesus and not to direct the course that has been set by God the Father. The most amazing part of it is that no matter how many times I overstep my bounds or think that I know best, God never stops loving me. There are definitely times when the Lord sets me straight and puts me back in my place, and it is always in the interest of improving me. Just like a Captain is responsible to mentor his First Officers, God continues to refine you and I, and make us better followers of Jesus than we were before.

Scripture

Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Application for Life

I continually pray that I would become more a Follower of Jesus and less a Leader of my own destiny. I pray that God would finish the work that He has started in us. That He would mentor us in His ways that we may be a faithful disciple of Christ. By continually studying the Word of God and praying diligently I feel it becomes easier to let go of our own steering wheels and surrender control to Jesus. In doing this we continually strive to improve our own “Followership” ability in the hope that one day we will hear the Lord Jesus tell us, “Well done good and faithful servants”.