Fan or Follower 2

Galatians 2:19-20

I suppose it is because we are ready to lay the groundwork for a second mission trip, but I have thought a lot about the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. I have thought of Hal and Chris who run the orphanage, and I think of other missionaries I know. At a recent pastoral gathering the topic of missionaries was discussed and so it is on my mind.

I admire these folks because these people have immersed themselves completely in serving God. Their very home is part of the mission work and part of the mission field. Every moment of their lives are dedicated to God’s work.

And that may be what Paul is referring to in today’s passage. What is his attitude toward the religious laws? How is Paul no longer alive?

Paul describes an incredible faith. It is the kind of faith that we need to adopt in our attitude toward serving God. If we are going to live as a family of faith under God then we need to die to our own lives and begin living for Christ.

We saw it in the lives and actions of Abraham and Isaac. We saw it in the decisions made by Rebekah. These people were willing to die to the life they knew so they could live in service of God.

But we can’t all become missionaries and we aren’t all called to be missionaries. How then do we reach this level of faithfulness? How do we become a follower and less of a fan?

We may not need to give up all we possess and all we desire. We may not need to give up the life we are accustomed to.

What we are called to give up is the attitude of how we live. If what we own possesses us – that is, it is so important we can not live without it – then we can not truly live for God. If our personal comforts and our own ambitions are too important to us, then we cannot live for God.

If other things are more important than God, then we are just fans of God and not followers of God. If we can not confess that God is more important than anything else, then we have not truly entered into that family of faith of whom Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah are members.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to become more of a follower of God?