THE NEW "FOLLOW-SHIP" by Dennis Wallstrom

“All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world.”  Matthew 28:18, 19 (NCV)

 People come to me for advice.  Sometimes as I’m listening to what they’re sharing about their lives, they come right out and ask, “Tell me what I need to do.”  This is a precarious position, because they are often in considerable pain and seeking relief.   I do like helping people feel better.   And I’m not unaware that those in our world who do this successfully and regularly—advise people in a way that helps them feel better—gain a large following.  And from a following comes recognition,  power, and wealth.

So in the instant of the request, for example, to “make my son behave,” or “get rid of my stress and depression,” or “help me get my wife back,” a door is opened to power.  If they follow my advice—and the key word is “follow”—and they are helped, I have acquired power in their lives.  But what kind of power, and what will I do with it?  Thus, therapists are hemmed in closely by ethics, laws, and regulations that limit the power they acquire and how they can use it.  In the oft-used phrase, we are to empower others and not just gain power over others.

The power question arises often in all our human interactions, and is a sensitive and delicate one.  But in Jesus’ great directive to us it is settled unmistakably.  Power rests in him—all of it.  More than raw flash-bang capability, it is the authority and rule of his kingdom.  Just as we pray it, perhaps unthinkingly, “Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.”  If that is truly settled for us, then our engagement with others is made crystal clear:  no one is to follow us, but we invite others to join us in a new type of follow-ship.  Put simply, “I am following him in the dazzling reality of his kingdom.  Come, follow with me.”   He alone can say simply, “Follow me.”

Have you seen it in the faces of others, when in their struggles they yield to the power of the kingdom of Jesus Christ?  This is far beyond the effect of some bromide I might offer as a therapist.  They begin to walk with us as we walk with him, and they discover freedom, purpose, and healing.  And power—oh yes, power!   More than one could hope to gain in any self-serving enterprise, it is all power.  And it is ours, too—together—in him. 

D.W.W.

Think about it:   What is most real to me about the kingdom of Jesus Christ?  How can I convey this to those who are in my life?