Jesus said, "Follow Me" - Part 2

Environments play an important role within our lives.  Likely, when you think back over the momentous occasions in your life, you can remember specific things about the environment.  I remember the distinct feeling of the church that Amanda and I were married in, even though I had never been in it before, and haven't been since.  Places like the beach create a flood of memories and feelings for me, simply by experiencing the environment.  Environments also can create certain behaviors--put my four year old in a relatively open space with things that he can climb on and jump off of, and you can bet he's not going to sit in a corner and read a book!  The flashing lights of an arcade will always pair with teenage boys.  Candlelit dinners will always mean something more than a couple trying to save on electricity.  And I can't even tell you how many times I've almost run out of gas looking for the relatively clean, well-lit gas station, in the hopes that the bathroom inside matched the environment outside!  Environment means something.

In the last post, I talked about the first three of the seven factors that we use to describe what it practically means to follow Jesus.  We said we need to live a lifestyle of worship, be connected to and invested in authentic community, and base our lives on the foundation of the Word.  All three of these were characteristics of the way that Jesus lived His life, and part of what He means when He calls us to follow Him.

However, can I point out something that may or may not be obvious at this point?  If we achieve each of these three things, regularly engaging them as a part of our journey with Christ, we still haven't really gotten anywhere.  I can be someone who regularly connects my heart with Jesus in worship, stays connected to brothers and sisters in community, and can be a student of the Word, and yet, I could still be bored!  You might argue with me, reasoning that true worship, real community, and a right understanding of the Word can't exist without action coming out.  Before I agree with you (that will be coming in tomorrow's post), I would simply rebut your argument with "Exhibit A: The American Church."  While I would agree that there's been a breakdown somewhere along the way, it seems that these three things are held in pretty high regard with no real behavioral transformation in quite a few places all around us...

However, just as a physical environment sets the stage for certain behaviors, these three factors create a spiritual environment.  They may not be "ends" by themselves, but they are certainly "means" to which we get to the ends!  Now, here's what's vital to understand--the environment is set, not for my activity, but for God's activity.  Maybe the best way to think of it is that worship, community, and the Word all act like kindling and wood for a fire--but only God can set that pile of sticks aflame.

So, that brings us to the fourth factor: Prayer as the First Work.  At our church, we call it "the first work" because we believe that it's the first and most important work to which we're called.  Here's why: when we engage Jesus through prayer, we never remain the same!  When we truly encounter Him, it's always a generative encounter.  Often, one of our early encounters will produce salvation.  Things like spiritual gifts are also produced.  But so are things like: mercy for the broken, compassion for the hurting, drive to know more of Jesus and His Word, desire for holiness, a heart for service, passion to see people know Jesus, and on and on.  It's through that encounter that Jesus does His best work!  And if you look back a few blog posts ago ("Good and Best"), it's also when He reminds us of what's most important.

So what happens after that encounter?  Do we simply enjoy all that He's producing in us?  Tomorrow's post will round out the cycle...

This material is taken from the forthcoming book “Follow Me: Discipleship that Moves Us” which will be released in early 2013.