Are you a Follower or Just a Believer?

The journey of living one's life as a Christian is an ongoing process. In its early stages, we are called to learn and accept certain beliefs pertaining to God, Jesus and our self. This is accomplished by reading the Bible, attending church, participating in small group study, self reflection and prayer. The more we invest in this journey the stronger our relationship with God grows. Being a Christian sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? If that was all there was to it, it would be easy to walk with Jesus. However, without acting on that faith, our journey becomes pointless and we become stagnant and incapable of moving further along on our spiritual path.

As we evolve in our faith, action becomes necessary to continue to progress. Action or inaction defines whether we are just believers of the word or if we are followers of Jesus. Action is not easy. Sometimes God calls us to do things we may be uncomfortable with, don't know how to do, or are afraid to do. This is why many people in the church, who are good people, get stuck in the belief only mode of our faith. Action is hard. Action is scary. Action takes energy. Action believes that through our faith, we can accomplish what God has called us to do. Action helps to strengthen our faith, deepen our understanding of what the Bible teaches us, and develop us into followers of Jesus. Action requires a deeper commitment to God and our beliefs. Without action our faith cannot truly be alive, since we are in fact not really living out our faith. In essence, our faith is dead or nonexistent to the outside world. Faith is like the scientific concept of potential energy. It provides us with many opportunities and holds the exponential possibility of great things. Action is what releases that potential energy, turning faith into greatness and glorifying God. It allows our faith to flow so that the outside world can see it and experience it.

Are you a follower or just a believer? Do you have enough faith to trust in God and what you have come to believe and be moved to action?