Trust and Follow (Wednesday, Week 26, Year 2, St Jerome)

Those of us who are active users of the social media platforms like Facebook, twitter and the rest are much familiar with the word “follower” (e.g. a follower of a celebrity). Those of us who are lovers of sports and those who patronize the entertainment industry know what it means to be a “fan” (e.g. a fan of Man-UTD FC, BB Naija and so on). Now, the two words (follower and fan) as used within the context of sports and entertainment seem to mean exactly the same thing. In this case then, to be a fan or a follower is to admire someone or a group to the point of longing to be like them. A fan or a follower admires the success of a celebrity, and identifies with him or her. A fan or a follower may not be interested in the sorrowful aspect of the celebrity’s life; he may not care to embrace whatever unpleasant experiences the celebrity went through before he or she became famous. 

Now, there is a difference between a “fan” and a “real-follower”. And this is what Jesus is trying to explain to us in the gospel reading. As he was going along the road with his disciples, a certain man came up to him, requesting that he wants to follow him. Well, the man in question might have seriously admired Jesus and his disciples. But Jesus went further to dish out the cost of following him; that a mere expression or longing to follow him is not enough. Being his fan is not enough. One must strive to be His real-follower. To be his real-follower, one must be ready to be inconvenienced. Second, one must be ready to detach. Third, one must be ready to remain focused and determined in the course of that followership. And for one to be able to do all these, the person MUST TRUST Him. To be His real follower is to go wherever He goes; to suffer whatever He suffers; and so on. The person must be able and ready to place his feet in His footsteps. Without faith or trust, there will not be a real-follower. There may be fans or social media followers; but real-followers will be lacking.

It was the same trust that helped Job to change his mentality about God. His friends have been strongly saying that Job sinned. In the Jewish world, there is no smoke without fire. Whoever that suffers must have terribly sinned against God. Job saw himself in a very terrible situation, even though he committed no grave offense against God. At first, he could not reconcile the fact that he was suffering and the fact that he never sinned against God. Even his friends and his wife could not comprehend that. And they still strongly believed that Job must have sinned. In his response to his friends, he expressed his complete trust in a God who does whatever He wills; in a God who gives and takes; in a God who cannot be predicted; a God whose ways are not our ways. The best way to approach such God is to trust Him. 

Our relationship with such God is not mathematically calculated: it is not a matter of 1+1=2. We don’t worship him because of what we stand to gain. We don’t serve Him so that “everything” will go on well for us. His ways are not our ways. Sometimes, you may even be surprised that someone who has been seriously making efforts to serve God is going through very difficult situations. Yes, we can’t dictate to God; neither can we predict Him. A certain man who was a pastor tore his bible to shreds. Why? Because he lost his wife and only son in an auto crash in the course of their evangelistic outreach! We may not understand some of these things. They are easier said than accepted. When we face real challenges of life, we may understand how it pinches. In such situations, the only thing we can do is to TRUST and OBEY. The God who has called us to follow will not lead us to a place or situation where His grace won’t sustain us.