There are followers and then there are admirers

I admire Jesus Christ. I really do. To do what he did within the span of 3 years is beyond incredible. It is miraculous in every sense of the word.

With a group of ragtag group of 12 guys, whittled down to 11, he changed the world. What's not to admire?

Yet I am more than an admirer of Jesus. I am a follower. A disciple. I believe that he not only was a great man and did wonderful things, I believe that he was and is the Son of God - deity - God himself.

I am giving my life to the paragraph I just wrote. My whole life. Since the time I was 16 and really became serious about God, Jesus Christ and serving Him, my life has been centered around my faith.

Oh, that's not to say I haven't had ups and downs. That's not to say I have been sinless or without fears and doubts. But at the end of the day, it has always been about God.

Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and theologian (and one of my favorite writers) once wrote, "If you have any knowledge at all of human nature, you know that those who only admire the truth will, when danger appears, become traitors. The admirer is infatuated with the false security of greatness; but if there is any inconvenience or trouble, he pulls back. Admiring the truth, instead of following it, is just as dubious a fire as the fire of erotic love, which at the turn of the hand can be changed into exactly the opposite—to hate, jealousy, and revenge. Christ, however, never asked for admirers, worshipers, or adherents. He consistently spoke of "followers" and "disciples."

Amen, I say, my brother in Christ.

May we all be followers of Christ, with a "furious longing of God."

If you looked at your life in Christ, today, would you consider yourself an admirer or a disciple?