What is Following Jesus Christ? - Chambers, Oswald
The still small voice (Matthew 4:19)
In the days of his flesh the invitation to follow Jesus Christ was a definite one. It meant doing as peter said, lo, we have left all, and have followed thee (mark 10:28). This literal following of Jesus is no longer necessary; what men are called on to forsake to-day is sin and worldliness. Never say you do not know where these things take up their abode. Get down before god and say, lord, why cannot i fol- low thee now? And he will show you why not in a Flash. But, you say, it cannot be that, it is far too small a thing. It is just that and nothing else. Never believe any being on earth if he contradicts the holy ghost. Whatever the holy ghost detects in you, trace it down, and you will find the whole disposition of sin, i. E. , my claim to my right to myself, is at the basis of that infinitesimal thing of which our mind says, but it cannot be that.
The silent sure vision (mark 4:34; cf. Luke 10:39)
Have you ever been alone with Jesus? The disciples enjoyed the inestimable privilege not only of hearing the truth from our lords own lips, but of questioning him in secret about everything he said. We go to john wesley, or to adam clarke,12 or some other commentator instead of going to Jesus himself. How can we go to him? The holy spirit is the exponent of Jesus Christs statements, and he will test whether the expositions are of god or not. Jesus Christs teaching is involved in such a manner that only the holy spirit can extricate its meaning for us. He will guide you into all truth. The holy spirit never witnesses to a clever interpretation; the exposition the holy spirit will witness to is always amazingly and profoundly simple; you feel, that certainly is gods truth. Whenever you are without that feeling about an interpretation, hesitate, keep your judgement in abeyance. Dont force your head to argue, but get alone with Jesus and ask him. If he keeps you waiting, he knows why he does so. Discernment of gods truth and development in spiritual character go together. In the sermon on the mount our lord emphasises the principle that continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples (see Matthew 7:24). Irregular listeners are turned into lop-sided fanatics. Many to-day are not following Jesus Christ, they have one glowing bit of light about salvation or sanctification or healing and they say, follow me, i am right. Jesus says, lift me up. We have to learn to sit at the feet of Jesus in our disposition. The one thing needful is continuous instruction in his word. Listen to the words Jesus spoke, and let the holy spirit instruct you. Be at it steadily. Dont be a hearer only, but become a disciple. Experience is never your guide; experience is the door- way for you to know the author of the experience. Get at the knowledge of god for yourself, be a continuous learner, and the truth will open on the right hand and on the left until you find there is not a problem in human life that Jesus Christ cannot deal with.
The slow steps in the valley (Luke 14:33)
To follow Jesus Christ to-day is to follow a madman according to the ideals of present-day civilisation. We have the idea that our civilisation is god-ordained, whereas it has been built up by ourselves. We have made a thousand and one necessities until our system of civilised life is as cast iron, and then we apologise to the lord for not following him. God can never mean that i have to follow him at the cost of all i have? But he does mean it. Instantly the clash is between our civilisation and the call of jesus christ. Read the sermon on the mount seek ye first the kingdom of godand apply it to modern life and you will find its statements are either those of a mad- man or of god incarnate.
The book entitled imitation of Christ by thomas a kempis is exquisitely beautiful, but fundamentally twisted, because our lords own message of regen- eration is ignored. Many a one who has started the imitation of christ has had to abandon it as hopeless because a strain is put on human nature that human nature cannot begin to live up to. To have attitudes of life without the life itself is a fraud; to have the life itself imitating the best pattern of that life is normal and right (see 1 peter 2:2123). The teaching of jesus christ applies only to the life he puts in, and the marvel of his redemption is that he gives the power of his own disposition to carry any man through who is willing to obey him.