It’s easy to follow Jesus.
Don’t believe me? Just listen to him: “The teaching that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light” (Matthew 11:29,30 – NCV).
I understand the revolt some spiritual leaders are championing against the “wussifying” of Christianity. I get that there’s a shift away from believers as consumers and churches as spiritual Walmarts. I’m grateful for the boldness that calls a spade a spade, drawing clear lines amidst the fuzzy moral grayness of our ultra-permissive culture.
Because of course, in so many ways, following Jesus is anything but easy. There’s a life to be left behind, a cross to be taken up, and a spiritual battle to be engaged. But this didn’t deter the one who started it all from insisting that his teaching is easy and his load is light.
Seth Godin said recently: “Setting up [people] to be right is almost always worth the effort. It’s so much more useful than setting people up to fail… When in doubt, make it so people succeed.”
Jesus seemed to have a vested interest in setting some people up to be right (and others up to be very wrong – that’s another blog for another time). He set the woman caught in adultery up to be right, asking her: “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” and then relieving her soul with the words, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” He set Zacchaeus up to be right: “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today;” although the crowd wondered why he would seek face time with such a sinner.
Does your church set people up to be right whenever you can, to succeed in their spiritual growth?
People are going to face enough hell (literally) in following Jesus; why would we provide more hoops for them to jump through (wear this, not that; use this translation of the Bible, not that; believe what this denomination believes, not that)? Why would we ever leave it unclear how to take the next step, form a friendship, and take shape in their faith? Why would we take the easy teaching of Jesus and make it more difficult?
If you think I’m suggesting dumbing down the faith, far from it. I’m just suggesting dumbing down our ridiculously long and arbitrary list of additions to the faith; removing the hoops, leaving the only hard leap to be believing the gospel and following Christ.
Apparently, if the teaching of your church isn’t easy (in the respect of not making it difficult for people to come to Christ, connect with others, and grow spiritually), then it isn’t the teaching of Jesus. And if the weight of belonging to your group isn’t light, it isn’t the weight of Jesus.
His is easy.
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