After the resurrection, one of the things Jesus says to his disciples is "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Matthew 28:18 (NIV). As I heard one teacher put it, "to his disciples, this would have been one of the most obvious, self-evident statements he could have made" (paraphrased). After all, at this point, his disciples had not only seen him perform great signs and wonders as they journeyed together, but they had also just seen him brutally killed on the cross, only to be standing here now with them again! Clearly, only someone with great power and authority could do such things.
Looking at Jesus, our crucified king and resurrected lord, I see (and the Bible shows us) that he:
- Has great wisdom, truly knowing the right way, and the correct path
- has great compassion and understanding, being willing to associate with the greatest of sinners, and describing himself as being "gentle and lowly at heart"
- Has a love so deep for our world, that he willingly, horribly suffered, taking upon himself the consequences rightly owed to us for our failures. Thus, we are able to be in right relationship with God (him) again, his greatest desire for us
- Has risen from the dead, showing he has defeated death, and has all authority to do as he pleases and bring restoration as he promises
This is the man who invites us to follow him.
Obviously, as Christians, our response to these truths, and believing that Jesus is who he says He is, is a resounding "yes, I will follow you!". Of course someone like this is worthy of our devotion and our lives! Who else is like Him? Who else has done what He did, and can do what He can do?
Within these ideas, something else has been sticking out to me: when we follow Jesus, we only follow Him. That may seem simple, or obvious, but it has had very significant implications for me recently, helping me to better see what it looks like to walk in the freedom that Christ offers. Here are some of them:
- I am free to express myself authentically and as I feel called by the Lord, knowing that the Lord loves me entirely, and does not judge me for things that others may find weird. Ultimately, where he calls me is what matters, no matter what others may think.
- At a fundamental level, the highest authority over my life is Jesus, and nobody else. That means that, while there are various authorities appointed by God in my life that are worthy of my respect (political leaders, my boss, perhaps), they do not ultimately control me, or own me. Should I respect and love these people as the Lord makes possible? Absolutely (also, I really like my boss). But, the heart posture is different - I love, respect, and even to an extent obey these people freely, but while also being unafraid to live life as God has called me, even if it comes into conflict with the desires of the people over me in the world.
- Thinking practically here: Work culture in the United States can be very challenging to navigate in a way that preserves your well-being as a worker, while trying to live the life that God has called you to. Of course, it's important to work hard, and to honor your bosses wishes as well as those you work with. However, Jesus frees me to let work be just work, and let following Him be the greatest priority. One example of this: I recently took a sick day, even though I wasn't so sick that working would be really difficult, but because I know that in addition to being a little sick, I had also been very busy recently and needed space to rest my body and mind. I was very much physically and mentally capable of working the day (and would have worked remotely at that, so no contamination concern), but I feel the Lord reminded me that my health and relationship with Him was more important, and certainly worth taking a day to prioritize. So I did!
- Jesus is the ultimate source of truth to the fullest extent. So, if in Him, we know that something is good, we have great permission to pursue that thing, even if others may be against it.
- Simple example: Maybe the Lord has shown me the value in loving someone that other people around me do not care for. If I see the value in this action, and the Lord is stirring my heart to express this love, I need not have fear of how other people feel, knowing that what I am doing is good, and the Lord Jesus, most powerful of all, is on my side.
- This is easy to know, but not feel, I think. It's easy to be worried about how others perceive our actions, I definitely get that. Always a growing and learning process :)
- Most important to me: Jesus is the most gracious, compassionate, understanding, and humble leader this world could have. So, because of His power, we should not settle for allowing a less wonderful person to dictate the movements of our heart. For me, the false authority who harshly tells me I need to get better is my own conscience, reminding me of the ways I have perceived my own failure and telling me I need to get better. For others, the critic could be someone else, like a boss or partner. Of course, it is very valuable to receive feedback humbly from others, and be honest with ourselves about our failings. Yet, when an overly critical, judgmental spirit appears, we must not settle for it. So, when Christ, in all his glory, sits down beside me in my time of struggle and says "you can't expect so much out of yourself, Nick. I love you, and I'm working through this with you", then that settles it. Who am I to be harsh to myself, or allow harshness from others (or for that matter, to be harsh to others) when the King of Kings is so gentle with me?