Are you a fan of...?

So there was this guy. Not just an ordinary guy, but a special guy. He turned water into wine. He healed a leper. He demanded evil spirits out of people. He walked on water. He made a blind man see. He fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. He calmed a storm with a spoken command. Obviously, he was not your average Joe. He is Jesus Christ.

The past couple of weeks I've been on my journey of reading the Bible in a year. So far I've journeyed through the book of Matthew and 9 chapters into the book of Mark. While reading these books, I  read about amazing, miraculous events. Also, I continually read that Jesus was almost always surrounded by people...not just people, but crowds. It made me think...hmm, Jesus was like the rockstar of the day! Some of the people knew that He would save them from sin and death, while others were skeptical. Can you imagine living back then? Being able to literally walk in Jesus' footsteps? Touch his cloak?Ahh, it would be awesome! I'm sure to some people, he was the cool guy, to others he was the weird guy and to the rest, they just didn't know about this man called, Jesus.

So as I read, I kept picturing Jesus as the number one rockstar of the land. I don't know if that is wrong, but that's just what my mind pictured. Everyone was talking about him and trying to figure out where he was going next. So just imagine your favorite band or singer. You know every single lyric and birthdate and maybe even sibling's names. Who knows! Main thing...you love this band or singer. You would drive 8 hours to go to their concert. You have every single album. You have a shirt signed by them that is framed in your room. You know the schedule of their concert tour. You are their number one fan.

I believe Jesus had different groups of people who gathered around him. Skeptics. Fans. Followers. They all had different motives.The skeptics gathered to figure out this guy who did all these miraculous things. The fans gathered to cheer, to be a part of this new hype because everyone was doing it, and maybe they wanted to get a little healing out of it too. Then, there were the followers. These people were the ones who knew that there was something special about this guy. Even if people looked down at them for following this man, Jesus, that wouldn't stop them. They followed wherever he went. They listened to his teachings, but not only did they listen, they took his advice. They did what He told them to do. They trusted His word. They supported Him. They loved Him. They were one step farther than a fan, they were a follower.

Let me ask you this...which group are you a part of? Are you in the group that is curious about this guy, JC? If you are, I would recommend you digging a little deeper to find out more about Him. You may be surprised what you find. It may be difficult to understand, but it's definitely not something to pass up. Are you in the fan group? The ones that cheer and want all the benefits of being a fan, but not take His advice? If you are, think about how it's working for ya.  Maybe taking His advice could be a life changing decision. There's nothing wrong with being a fan, but you could be more. Are you in the follower group? If you are, awesome! Keep following him, even if people look at you differently and try to get you to join the skeptic group. You are on the right track. Following the only man that can heal people with just a touch, walk on water, and most importantly, be crucified and raised from dead for you, is the best person you could follow.

So I challenge you to check your motives. 

Why are you following Jesus?  

We should be more than a fan, we should be a follower.

Think about it.

Today's scripture reading for read-your-bible-in-a-year plan is Mark 8-9.