To My Facebook Friends

To My Facebook Brother in Christ….

I am about to say something that, in all probability, no one has said to you. But before I do, please consider Proverbs 27:6: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” And you are my longtime friend. So…. here it goes…. I am almost 100% certain you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. Born-again, yes. Blood-washed, certainly. Name recorded in the “Book of Life”, no doubt. But a follower of Lord Jesus?…. sorry.

When just a newborn in the family of God, attending a small gathering of saints, the Holy Spirit dropped something scary in my heart as we sang the words of that enduring song, “Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back.” He said, most clearly, there would be a day I would get to prove the words I just sang (“Though none go with me, still I will follow”). In other words, there would be a time Every person with whom I was acquainted would stop following Jesus. Would I also stop following Him?

It was about five years later I finally understood. While at an evangelical service it was plainly revealed to me that christians – that is, all christians present in that gathering and all those with whom I was associated – were not following Jesus; they were following each other. Christians followed christians who followed christians who followed christians. (That certainly included all church leadership.) Today I can count on one hand the friends who truly follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, my precious brother in Christ, you are not one of them. But that can change.

You might wonder, “How can one determine if it is Christ or christians I am following?” Simple. Your speech (and your writings/postings) reveal your heart. Jesus: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” To know, listen to (and read) your own words. What’s in comes out. Jesus in, Jesus out. Christians in, christians out. Churchianity in, churchianity out. I have conversed with you many times over many years and can’t recall you mentioning that “name that is above all names”. Not once. You spoke of this and that and those and them, but never Him.

Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me.” Later He said to Matthew, “Follow Me.” Their response? They “followed Him.” Jesus calls every new convert to “Follow Me.” And they do…. for a time…. until ensnared by a religion…. which contends with Jesus for their allegiance…. and after a dozen or so sunday services the convert no longer follows Christ, but instead follows christians….. who are following christians…. who are following christians. Their words give them away.

You can become, once again, a follower of Jesus Christ, just like when first “born of the Spirit” before ensnared by institutionalized christianity. But will you? Peter and Andrew “immediately left their nets”. Matthew left his trade. What are you willing to leave behind? More acutely, what are you NOT willing to give up? Approval? Applause? Reputation? Friendships? Is the cost of Christ too costly? I pray not.