Apostolic Perspectives #6 - ReJesusing The Church
The moment I saw this concept I liked it.
As a communicator, I am always interested in unique ways of getting the point across.
When I surrendered my life to God and became a Christian, my sole focus was to follow Jesus. My heart's desire was to know him more through followship - another concept that came into my spirit years ago before it gained traction in church and business circles.
Over the years I have discovered that there is a vast difference between following Jesus and studyingabout Jesus. True knowledge of the Lord actually comes from obedience, not studying per se:
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: ( Hos. 6:3 KJV)
Properly understood, reJesusing the church is a call towards movement.
The church started out as a powerful movement of Jesus’ followers. The “life, ministry and message of Jesus” was so compelling that it was enough to motivate anyone whose heart was truly exposed to it. Take Justin Martyr for example: he was a lawyer-philosopher who had studied Plato, Aristotle and many other great philosophers. Still he thirsted for more knowledge and understanding. One day, someone told him about the life of Jesus Christ and challenged him to look into it with an open mind. They suggested that he start with the Hebrew Scriptures and work his way down to the writings of the Apostles. Justin Martyr did exactly that and found himself consumed by the life of a Man who was more that just a man. Amazingly, he also found that his never-ending search for the meaning of life came to an end. Jesus became his philosophy; his way of life. From that point on, Justin decided to follow Jesus with all his heart.
His name, prior to his encounter with Jesus was Justin. After his encounter, he became known as Justin Martyr; the last name signifying that he was now a powerful witness for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is also interesting to note that this last name was given to him over time by those who witnessed the dramatic change in his life.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Acts 1:8)
As I write these words, the memory of my own encounter with Jesus comes rushing back. I am challenged all over again to reJesus my own life. Jesus challenged all believers to take up their cross daily and follow Him. As someone so aptly put it, the point is not the taking up of the cross, but following Jesus. Sometimes we put the emphasis on the cross without realizing that the cross is a means to an end. Following Jesus is the point! The cross signifies the inevitable challenges that will come when we decide to follow Jesus. Another way of putting this is that you can't follow Jesus without a cross. But let's not make the cross the main point, even though it comes with the territory of following Jesus Christ.
May you daily experience the all-consuming passion of following Jesus. Let's reJesus the church!