The ducks in the picture above look like the real thing. In fact, from a distance, you might even assume they are the real thing.
But they aren’t. They are fake. Which the real ducks discover too late.
Here’s the point: just because something (or someone) looks like the real deal doesn’t mean they are the real deal. Applied to the life of the local church, that leads to an extremely uncomfortable reality:
It’s entirely possible to look like a follower of Jesus- and yet not be a true follower of Jesus.
We can look like Christians- we can live morally good lives, show up at church, and even do some objectively good things that actually advance God’s Kingdom- and yet not truly be followers of Jesus.
Jesus brings this truth into the light when speaking of the final judgment:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ – Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
As a pastor, that passage gives me deep pause, because the people that were so convinced of their salvation in this passage were those doing “the work of the ministry”! My gosh, they were doing miracles…and yet at the end of the day, they did not know Jesus.
Put another way: even those who appear to be “the best of the best” on the outside are in real danger of missing Jesus altogether. In fact, the “better” you are on the outside, the more likely it is you will miss Jesus. The reason?
Because- especially for outwardly “good” people- there is a tendency to believe that what makes you acceptable to God is your own perceived goodness.
This blinds us to the Gospel because it removes our realization that we need a Savior. The “better” we tend to be from a behavior standpoint, the more difficult it tends to be to believe that- contrary to our perception of ourselves- we are not good. The more morally upright we appear to be, the more difficult it often becomes to realize that we are actually wicked to our core. The more “Christian” we appear to be, the more difficult to can be to realize that none of our actions make us acceptable to God- and that even on our best day, our attempted righteousness is, as Isaiah says, “filthy rags.”
Following Jesus is not about “looking the part.” It is about a genuine relationship with Christ that requires two things to step into: repentance of our sin and total surrender to Jesus in light of who He is and what He’s done.
Neither of those are discussed much on today’s culture at all.
To put repentance in a nutshell, a real follower of Jesus has both repented of their sin and is regularly repenting of their sin. They have turned from being led by their sin to being led by Jesus- and the more they follow Jesus, the more aware they become of their sin- and the more consistently they repent.
If you can’t remember the last time you repented- regardless of all the “good” things you may be doing…it’s time to check yourself.
Truly following Jesus doesn’t make me believe I’m awesome. It makes me more aware of how desperately I need a Savior and how beautiful the undeserved grace of God is.
Is that where you are today- or are you basing your hope for eternity on what you “look like”?
In regards to surrender: the words means exactly what it sounds like. To follow Jesus is to surrender to Him. To follow Jesus is for Him to be in charge- not you. It’s for Him to call the shots- not you.
And it’s entirely possible to act like Jesus is calling the shots…when reality is that you are.
How do we know this?
If you put any religion in the world beside Christianity, the “moral code”, so to speak, is going to be pretty similar. Be kind, be generous, be faithful to your spouse, etc., is considered good, moral behavior.
You can do all those things- and still be as far from Jesus as someone you think is “worse” than you. How?
Because Jesus isn’t in charge of your life. You are.
Who’s really calling the shots in your life? Who or what are you organizing your life around? Because when Jesus really enters our lives, He completely upends the apple cart. He doesn’t just add Himself to what we are doing- He completely changes everything about what we are doing- and that’s a process that He will continue until the day we stand before Him in eternity. Ask yourself…
- What’s different about my marriage as a result of me being a follower of Jesus?
- What has changed in my parenting due to me following Jesus?
- What is my perspective of my job or my career since I’ve claimed the name of Jesus?
- What has changed about the way I treat other people- especially those different from me- since I’ve said I’m a follower of Jesus?
We could go on and on and on, but the point is simply this: following Jesus is beyond a mere moral code or a set of intellectual beliefs. It is something that completely alters our lives in every conceivable way. It changes our attitudes, our motives, and- yes- our behaviors. It reorients our lives to where Jesus is at the center and He determines how we do things and why.
If your life isn’t distinctly different from the culture we live in beyond being “morally upright” and showing up at church…then the question is “Are you really a Christian?” Because a real follower of Jesus will live in a distinctly different way: with Jesus at the center, with Jesus being in charge, with Jesus calling the shots.
Who’s calling the shots in your life?