"Come, follow me."

How big is your Jesus? No, he doesn't come in all shapes and sizes.  What I mean is: how big of a role does he play in your life?  Is he just a Sunday morning entertainer?  Is he just the guy you thank for putting food on the table?  I guess to be fair, it's a trick question.  Jesus shouldn't play a "role" in my life.  He is the whole performance! 

To tell you the truth, sometimes (and by sometimes I mean often times), my Jesus is far too puny.  As much as it pains me to admit, sometimes I treat my Jesus as distant and cold.  Sometimes, I treat Him as if he is just another part of my life.  When Jesus says "Come, follow me," he commands us do it as if blindly.  He demands that we give him all authority to direct our lives.  How dare, then, for me to think that I can compartmentalize Christ into certain areas of my life when he calls me to radical abandonment?  How can I believe that it is ok to continue on appearing unchanged by His power?  Nowhere in  "Come, follow me" is there room for doing it halfheartedly.  "Come, follow me" should mean that every person that comes in contact with me knows that I have been changed by the most potent power in all of the universe."

One of my favorite pastors compares following Christ to getting hit by an 18-wheeler.  If you get run-over by a Mack truck, people are going to notice.  You cannot possible walk into work the next day and tell your co-workers around the water cooler a story about you getting smashed by a Mack truck the day before.  You clearly would not be the same after betting hit by a Mack truck.  Simply put, people can tell a difference in a person when they get hit by a Mack truck.  Similarly, we should not be the same after getting "struck" by Jesus.  You cannot walk into work the next day and tell your co-workers about your decision to follow Jesus and continue to live the same as the day before.  You just got hit by a Mack truck, you should be different!  "Come, follow me" means getting hit by a Mack truck.  "Come, follow me" means changing!  

I'll go back to the original question: How big is your Jesus?  The Jesus of the Bible is big enough to handle your problems, but often times we treat him as a last resort after we've tried to fix our lives ourselves.  The Jesus of the Bible is not distant and cold, but a comforter, and we still try to find comfort in every substance and pleasure under the sun before turning to Jesus.  What it boils down to is: Jesus is enough.  He is enough to satisfy our temporary needs.  He is enough fill our empty hearts.  He is enough to get us through.  He is enough to pull us out.  He is enough to push us on.  He is enough to provide protection.  "Come, follow me" is a daunting command, but it does not come without a promise.  "Come, follow me" cannot guarantee where the path will lead, or how smooth the path will be, or how the journey will be financed.  But "Come, follow me" can guarantee who you will be with.  You will be with Jesus.  The one who is enough, the one who is here, the one who is good, the one who is awesome, praise-worthy, holy, spotless, perfect, perfecting, powerful, omnipotent, omniscient, loving, selfish, jealous, mighty, everything, forgiving, firm, strong, healing, active, alive, glorious, almighty, capable, stronger, unending, incessant, merciful, gracious, demanding, accepting, abundant, forever worthy, timeless, priceless, crowned on high, adorned, unreachable yet accessible, inconceivable, divine, supreme, radiant, Emmanuel, I Am, able, faithful, ultimate, final, above all, immortal, impassible, indispensable, majestic, all sufficient, the crux of history, redeeming, atoning, just, limitless, blameless, beginningless, endless, burdenless, unshakable, comitted, compassionate, complete, incorruptable, unparalleled, unequaled, soverign, indefinite, unprecedented, beautiful, matchless, incomprehensible, invincible, irresistible and indescribable.   

That Jesus is worth following.  That Jesus is worth losing everything for.  That Jesus is worth ditching my flesh for.  When I get run over by that Jesus, I should not be the same.  That Jesus refuses to be "just another part of my life."  That Jesus does not play just a role in my life, but that Jesus is my life.    That Jesus is enough.  And that Jesus is worth it.  

"Jesus Christ, you are enough for me, but I am sorry that I don't treat you as enough.  I am not here to offer apologies for my neglect, but I am here to know You.  I want your power to be revealed to me as I follow you.  Here is everything.  You are sovereign over it all and you are alone are sufficient.  Wreck me, a wretch trying follow a saint.  Take over."