How practical is following Jesus, anyway?
When Jesus ascended into heaven and empowered his apostles to go and make disciples of all nations, Peter gives a sermon about just what it means to be a follower of Jesus. In Acts 2:38-39 he says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Repenting and being baptized sounds simple enough, but in reality the stakes have never been higher.
The Greek word that is used for repent means a change of mind, will, or actions. It doesn’t mean to just be sorry about something, it is being apologetic followed by action and a change of direction. Repentance describes what coming to God actually is: you can’t turn towards God if you don’t turn from the things that He is against.
Turning towards God, following Jesus, is not practical. Most of the time, it means turning down the things we want to do and saying no to the things our culture tells us to say yes to. It means fighting the current that tries to pull us farther from God and closer to the death and deception of the enemy.
Following Jesus isn’t practical but it’s the best decision we could ever make: we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, or the indwelling presence of God. When we choose to follow Jesus, we enter into His promise of eternal life and complete fulfillment in His will. In the end, following Jesus isn’t about practicality at all: it’s about hope.
