We Follow Jesus Today

 February 27, 2024

Tuesday

The news media is infamous for predicting catastrophe. In the 90s, they predicted that the baby boomers were not saving as they should. They warned that this generation would be poor in their retirements. I just read a new article that calls them the wealthiest generation ever, having amassed $78 trillion in assets. 

It doesn't seem to matter what the topic is, doom and gloom is the theme. The weather, politics or the economy are going down fast and there is nothing we can do! Or so, they say.

I guess we can conclude that we gravitate toward these stories or the news media wouldn't produce them. Disaster sells. Evidently, good news doesn't.

I see articles popping up frequently telling us that the Church is on its way out. The articles promote why people are leaving churches. They lament over the decline in church attendance. They predict a faithless population. Can these stories be written to ease the guilt of those who have left the church? Are they there to tell those who have left that they are now in the majority and shouldn't feel so bad about leaving? Even some of the Christian authors don't attend church now. They think they are better for leaving church out.

These articles assume that God has nothing to do with what is going on in the world. They assume that He is not working anymore. They assume that He has stopped building His church. I believe what they assume is absolutely wrong.

Elijah came to the Lord to claim that he was the last follower of God. He was trying to point out that even though no one else followed, he did. Now, his complaint was that he could not be expected to carry on by himself. He might as well die now for when he was gone, it was over anyway. What Elijah didn't know depressed him.

God told him:

“Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”” (1 Kings 19:18, NASB 2020)

God was still being followed by people other than Elijah. God's word would continue. Faith in Him was not dead. God was sustaining those who did not follow Baal.

Yes, church attendance is down. Yes, there are less people calling themselves Christians. Yes, there are now "churches" who have no faith springing up. That's now what is important to us. We have a vital relationship with Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit living within us. We have a Father who cares for us deeply. Our responsibility is to follow Him.

When Peter pointed out what Jesus wanted for one of the other disciples Jesus said:

   “Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”” (John 21:22, NASB 2020)

  Our concern is not what is going on in the world or even with other Christians. Our concern is whether we are following Him.

We follow Him today because it is in His hands always. We may just be the 7,000 God is holding back for Himself. That's because we follow Him.