Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus

Fully devoted followers of Jesus -- that's how many of us commonly describe an authentic disciple/apprentice of Jesus.  It's what "Christians" should be. It's how most of us would describe ourselves (or at least what we're committed to acheiving).  The terminology helps us to differentiate between those serious about living like Christ and those who seem to be Christians in name only.

But what IS a fully devoted follower of Jesus?  How can you tell when you've met one on the street, at work, or in your church?

Yes. I DO believe that there are fully devoted followers of Jesus serving and loving within the institutional Church today, contrary to the doubts of some emergents and revolutionaries.

"I wondered with it would look like if we decided to really follow Jesus.  In fact, I wasn't exactly sure what a fully devoted Christina looked like, or if the world had even seen one in the last few centuries." (Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, p. 71.)

I absolutely loved Shane Clairborne's book, by the way, and recommend it without reservation. And although I don't hesitate in considering Shane a fully devoted follower of Jesus, I do not believe that a person necessarily needs to live with the homeless, intern with Mother Teresa, or visit the victimized people of Iraq in order to be one, though many may be called to such things.

For me, when I think of fully devoted followers of Jesus, I initially think of:
 

Luke 10:27 (NRSV) 
    He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

And as I continue pondering what fully devoted followers of Jesus are like, I end up focusing on the following values:

• Surrender and self-sacrifice -- pursuing and embracing God's kingdom and will above all others including their own; and living lives ruled by generosity.
• Obedience -- their entire life could be summarized by the phrase: "yes, Lord."
• Love -- for God; for self; and for all human beings, especially the poor and marginalized.
• Servanthood -- they put both talents and spiritual gifts to work for the benefit of others.
• Prayer -- they make prayer a priority, regardless of their busy lives.
• Community -- their faith is not lived-out in isolation, but in relationship with others.
• Multiplication -- they're committed to helping others grow as fully devoted followers of Jesus.

I normally tend to think of principles and/or values, rather than in terms of specific behaviors (a mistake, I believe, the Church has repeatedly made).  And honestly, when I then attempt to hold up my own life against such values, all I can say is: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Nonetheless, desiring to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus is something I cannot let go of.  And I'm sure that it will remain a lifetime pursuit.

But what about you?  What is it that makes someone a fully devoted follower of Jesus?  What does she or he look like (i.e. how would you recognize one if you saw one)?

And finally, can you name one or more full devoted followers of Jesus? People's whose lives bespeak such a description?  And what must happen so that we end up seeing a lot more of these people in our world?

.

photo credit: Chris Ediger, via avisualplanet.com

Comments

[tracy]

what does a genuine follower of Christ look like?

Firstly, I like to see myself as allowing myself to be followed by Him in me. He is the pursuer of my life and in my life. This means I am learning to let him BE in control and how that looks may confuse people or/and even offend people.

But He turned up in my life once and showed me that He has already given His life so I don't have to try and live my life out of a false identity and and 'fading glory' flesh values out of which I could not truly love him, others or myself. I do experience Christ in my life showing me how to love myself more and more which in turn has as affect on my view of others.

There are some people on this planet who consider themselves to be Christians ( won't mention names) but i have to accept that. It really is not up to me to make such judgements, but they are on journeys which are entirely different to mine and God loves it when we love those who we don't understand. There are some who would not consider me to be a genuine follower, and I have no problem with that, Christ is in me so I can live as am really meant to be.

Living out of His Grace and Mercy, a dependency in Him therefore and a letting go

Really enjoyed respondingto this post. Great blog matey!!.
the thing I really love is that i'm in London and you're in the American desert somewhere...love this conversation stuff so close at hand

Chill

[Bald Man]

Chris,
I think you've got a pretty good list there, and the key is probably that they are verbs, ways of behaving.

[Chris Monroe]

Tracy -

"This means I am learning to let him BE in control and how that looks may confuse people or/and even offend people."

Is that because people make assumptions about what a Christ-controlled person looks like? Maybe you could expound on that a little.

"It really is not up to me to make such judgements, but they are on journeys which are entirely different to mine and God loves it when we love those who we don't understand."

That's an important point. And sometimes, people "we don't understand" can actually teach us a great deal, don't you think?

"the thing I really love is that i'm in London and you're in the American desert somewhere...love this conversation stuff so close at hand"

Definitely! The blogosphere is amazing that way. I regularly give God thanks for friends around the globe, how much I learn from them, and what a blessing they are.

I'm glad you enjoyed commenting on this post. Hopefully, others beside you, me, and Bald Man will get in on the discussion here.

Blessings!

Chris

[Chris Monroe]

Bald Man -

Thanks for the encouragment! I especially wanted to avoid "behaviors", and focus instead on values/principles that might inform/guide our behavior as fully devoted followers of Jesus. My thought, in part, is that it might help anchor us (think "web" epistemology).

Blessings!

Chris

[Fr. Dcn. Raphael]

We Orthodox have a whole calander full of fully devoted followers of Jesus. Here are the ones we are given to remember (and learn from) on this date:

Today is: Wednesday, 2 August 2006
Today the Church celebrates:

Transfer from Jerusalem to Constantinople of the relics of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen (c. 428); Blessed Basil of Moscow, the Fool-for-Christ (+ 1557); Finding of the Relics of the Righteous Nicodemus, Gamalieilus, and Abibus; Hieromartyr Fructuosus, Bishop of Tarragon and with him the deacons Eulogius and Augrius; Hieromartyr Stephen, Pope of Rome and those with him (257)

[Gina]

You have a good list, Chris. I think in the end there is something ineffable about this, something outside ourselves (the Holy Spirit, no doubt!) that makes following Christ as necessary as breathing. I'm not fully devoted- the difficulty I have with the simplest of disciplines shows that more than anything- yet I'm fully devoted to being fully devoted someday. I no longer know any other way to live, thank God.

As FDR says, there are the saints- their example is meant as encouragement and testimony that it's possible for people in all walks of life and stations to completely put on Christ.

[Robin]

I'm fully devoted to being fully devoted someday

I think Gina nailed it; somehow, to say "I'm there" resonates with complacency or self satisfaction. "Fully" devoted implies a completed work, and I've discovered my faith to be much more so a work in progress. I'm continually hungry and thirsty for God, this appetite is never wholly satisfied; on the contrary, the more I "eat and drink", the more I want to eat and drink.

It hasn't always been like that, so I'm thankful for this time of life where God has impressed upon me the need to know HIM, not just His Word.

Do people see this? Perhaps sometimes. When those values you listed take root, when the heart and mind of man is transformed, then there's a resultant change of behavior. I'm not saying it's consistent behavior, because we are flawed by our sinfulness; but...I DO think people know the difference b/t one who calls himself a Christian, and one who LIVES it.

You asked if we knew anyone we could call a "fully devoted follower of Christ"; several precious people come to mind. The two things that set them apart from others is simply their love of God (as evidenced by the love of His Word and obedience to Him) and their love of people (marked by service to others, generosity of time, talent and resources, and a consistency of character and integrity).

[Chris Monroe]

Robin,

"I'm thankful for this time of life where God has impressed upon me the need to know HIM, not just His Word"

Right on! (oops! I let my age show!)

Like you, I too like how Gina put it:

"I'm fully devoted to being fully devoted someday"

Glad you echoed that.

Blessings,

Chris