Who do you follow? April 8, 2008
Posted by Clint Armani in Gospel.1 comment so far
I was recently reminded by a friend who works with Muslims of the difference in the way-of-thinking between eastern cultures and western cultures. Easterners often think in terms of relationships, whereas, Westerners often think in terms of philosophical ideas. For instance, I’ve previously asked people in Sunday School to give me short descriptions of Jesus. The first ones are descriptions like rock, alpha and omega, bread of life, etc. These describe Jesus in abstract terms. Don’t get me wrong, these are all very fine descriptions. They are biblical. However, other terms that we might think of to describe Jesus are king, shepherd, high priest. These terms are more relational and less abstract.
My friend pointed out that Easterners follow people, whereas Westerners follow schools of thought. He said that Westerners tend to identify more with Christianity than with Jesus. This is challenging for me. How do I describe my Christian walk? Am I an evangelical, reformed, baptist… Christian? Or am I a follower of Jesus?
This leads me to another area that I think Westerners tend to be weak at, that’s mentoring/discipling. Again, we tend to identify ourselves with the type of church we attend and which theological points we ascribe. Rather, in trying to follow Jesus, shouldn’t we identify ourselves, not only with Jesus, but with other Godly men or women who are mature followers of Jesus? This is probably why my undergraduate years were some of the most spiritually rich years — dedicated time sitting under the feet of Godly men. Easterners are honored to imitate their leaders.
My friend pointed out that westerners are too independent, too individualistic. We don’t want to submit tp authority (for instance: elders, Word of God). Let us learn from eastern culture. Realize that Jesus lived and taught in such a culture. He told us to follow Him. And in following Him, may we sit under the feet of men and women who also follow Him. May we imitate their lives in Godliness. Likewise, may we tell our children and friends to imitate us as we follow Jesus.
