Follow Closely to Keep Up

Picture from talkandroid.com

I love Twitter.  I've been tweeting for a couple of years now and am closing on on my 3000th tweet.  I get most of my news from Twitter.  I keep up with friends on Twitter.  Friends keep up with me on Twitter. Twitter is good.  For those who are not familiar with Twitter, you follow people (those fellow twits who tweet) and people follow you. I have quite a few followers but near as many as others. Even thought I have a few hundred followers, they are not following me closely.  Many of them I have never met personally.  So, in essence, those who follow me do so at a distance.  They may know about me and what kind of coffee I drank this morning, but they really don't know me.  I think this serves as a picture of the spiritual walk of many people in our nation.

In Luke 22:54-62, we have Luke's account of Peter's denial of Christ.  This is a gut-wrenching passage for me. Why? Because there have been times in my spiritual journey that I have lived it.  I think if most of us were honest with ourselves, we would have to say that we have lived it too.  Outside of the play-by-play that we get here from Luke, there are two sentences that really stick out in this account. 

The first sentence is found in verse 54.  It simply says that Peter followed at a distance. When we are following Jesus, following at a distance is dangerous. In fact, for Peter is was dreadfully painful.  Peter had committed the previous 3 years of his life following Jesus everywhere.  He saw things that very few others, including some of the other disciples, ever got to see.  He would be likened unto Jesus' right hand man.  It is almost as if when you saw Jesus, you saw Peter too.  What would cause Peter from following so closely to following at a distance? Fear for one.  Jesus had just been betrayed by Judas into the hands of the Pharisees.  Peter feared that he, too, might be arrested for his association with Jesus.  When we are afraid because of our association we will follow at a distance.  I think, curiosity as well.  Peter did not want to get too close but he wanted to see what was going to happen with Jesus. When we are just curious about Christ, we are not committed to Him. Commitment is how we set ourselves apart as disciples of Jesus. We cannot be a committed follower of Jesus and follow at a distance.  Disciples follow so closely to their master that they get covered with he dust of their master's feet. There is a closeness of relationship that only comes from following Jesus closely. If you are not experiencing a close relationship with Christ, you are not following Him close enough.

The second sentence that carries great weight with it is found in verse 61.  After Peter's third denial of knowing Jesus, Luke's account says that Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Can you imagine? Just a few hours earlier, Peter said that he would go to prison or even die for Jesus.  It was after this prideful statement that Jesus warned Peter of his denial.  Peter had become so caught up in the events of the night and the perceived need to protect his identity that he had forgotten the warning of his Master.  When we do not follow closely to Jesus we forget the importance and weight of His teaching. In the very moment that Peter uttered his last denial of knowing Jesus, Peter's eyes lock with Jesus'.  The next thing Peter hears is the rooster crow.  There is only one response to this -- brokenness. In that moment, Peter realized all that he had done and what following Jesus from a distance had done for him.  He responded the only way he could.  He runs outside of the city and weeps bitterly.  When we realize what following at a distance costs us and the person that it turns us into, our only response is repentance.  Luckily, the story does not end there. In John 21:15-19, we see that Peter is restored, forgiven and commissioned by Jesus. Even when we fail, there is forgiveness and restoration available from the master.

So, how are you following Jesus today? Is he just someone you follow via Twitter?  Do you know about Him and what He's doing, but do not know Him personally?  Are you following Jesus from a distance, hoping that you will not be spotted?  Are you following Jesus so closely that you are covered with the dust of His sandals?  Jesus desires followers/disciples who follow Him closely.  Follow on!