Welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well. And as we continue on our journey of our own. we let you come into what we're wrestling with and what we're thinking about and what's God puts on our hearts. So, I'm going to let Suzi start this one.
You said a funny thing there of wrestling with, you know, I am not a sports person at all. I don't like to sweat. I don't like my hair to get undone, you know, messed up. I played girls basketball in college, three games. We had a big schedule, three games. And I was more concerned about my hair. And so, when you say wrestle that kind of throws me because I want to say to the Lord all the time, I don't want to wrestle. Can I just get it? And I don't.
And I identify with Jacob the wrestling part of his conversations and his walk with the Lord with God Almighty is he had to wrestle with him. And it seems like I do a lot of wrestling. And it's not because I'm not content. It's because I want more. I want to know him more deep. ly and it seems like in my life this is not transferable to everyone by any stretch, but it seems like in my life he asked me to go to the mat a lot
and lately I've been thinking about the whole idea of why do we follow Christ? I know eternal life is important and when people you know accept Christ they the idea of being eternally in heaven not suffering in hell for eternity but eternal in heaven is a huge thing. definitely is a huge thing. But why do we follow him then? Because my mind is racing this morning, so you're going to have to bear with me. A lot of people followed him around, but not everybody followed closely. And there's a difference between following him as a wow, he did this, he did that, or to be a part of a body of believers that are like doing big huge things. and the momentum of that is really exciting. But what does it mean to follow him? And it got me thinking about years ago, and I wish I could remember the man's name, and so if he's still alive and hearing this, this is a shout out to you. This man did these this video series. He had taken a lot of people on tours to Israel and through, you know, Egypt and all sorts of exciting places, Turkey, everywhere. And He spoke he did a whole series on the dust of the rabbi and that even that phrase is really fascinating to me and so if he's ever hears this or if anybody knows who he is please let me know I cannot remember his name but it was a fascinating series and he talked about people men that followed a rabbi and it was a really big deal to follow a rabbi to be chosen by a rabbi that's why Let me go back to when Jesus was choosing his disciples. It was a huge deal for Matthew the tax collector to be chosen by God by God incarnate Jesus to follow him. That was huge. So the death of the rabbi was really important. And as I recall studying that the idea was that you would follow a rabbi so closely that you would because they would walk all over the place that you would literally have the dust of his shoes that he would kick up as he would walk on you. So that's the dust of the rabbi. That's how closely that person would follow them. And in following them, they would imitate them. They would try to even speak like them. they would walk so closely behind them that they were instantly identified with him. And other people would be able to say, "Oh, you follow Rabbi soando." They could tell by the way they taught, by the way approached the ancient scriptures, the Torah, the way they even their mannerisms, that was how closely they would follow a rabbi. And so my question is, what does it mean to us to follow? I mean, what does that look like? And why are we following? And I think where the confusion is for me, and I'm kind of all over the place, is not going to surprise anybody listening, but I started thinking about do I follow him closely? And what does that look like? And do I have his dust on me that people would say, "Oh, she follows Jesus." Or do they just think, "Oh, she's a Christian, a nice person. She goes to church." I don't know. It's been bouncing around my head.
Yeah. And it's it is the whole idea that we would look more and more like Jesus that he calls us to be conform to the image of his son.
So it's that idea. The interesting thing Suzi as you were talking about it yet eternal life is important,
right?
I mean it's Paul says this in first Corinthians but if Christ in Christ we have hope in this life only we're the we're of all people to be most pied.
Yeah.
So there you can't disconnect eternity.
No.
But in the process of when I get till I get to eternity I have the ability to look like Jesus.
Yeah. And when the disciples followed him, he taught them about who the father was. He told them about the coming spirit, although they didn't probably understand all that,
right?
but he also spoke to them about their lives. I mean, we see it in Peter in particular. And I don't know. It's just been so These thoughts have just been on my heart and in my mind about if I follow him and I would I'm going to imagine here. So this is not something from scripture but it's something in my imagination that if there are four or five guys following a rabbi that if that rabbi then saw that some of their behavior was not in line with what he was teaching, he would speak to them in love as their rabbi so that they would continue to follow the truth. not their own truth.
Yeah. And it's and what I think has to be part of making the picture a complete picture is it's not by us having to ramp up our efforts.
No,
it's by grace.
Yeah.
It's grace that we're saved by, but it's also grace that works in that process of conforming us to be more and more to the image of Christ. I can't do it on my own. It's the spirit of God who lives within me. It's the grace of God given through his son that will bring me to a place where I can hopefully look more and more like Jesus.
So I think the question begs to be asked and that is for those of you that are listening that consider yourself a follower of Christ, what are you following? Who are you following? Why are you following? And what does that look like? And I'm going to make a huge leap back in time if that's okay to the Old Testament. Okay,
can I do that?
I've been reading Psalm 51 quite a bit and Psalm 51 was written, David wrote it and it was after he sinned with Bashibba and his child died and he had been spoken to by the prophet Nathan. It was about probably 18 months before he repented. That's historical. That's not my thinking, but that's I think somewhat accurate. So he writes Psalm 51. He had forgotten who he was to be following. God had given him specific direction. directions about what he was supposed to do. He was the king and we know the story. He was supposed to have been out to battle. He was not. He got himself stuck in a place that he shouldn't have been. He lost sight of who he was to follow. So, after he repents, as he's repenting, he writes Psalm 51. And I love, well, there's so much of it I love, and we're not going to certainly in this short time go through it all. Maybe we'll do more another time, but He says,"I recognized my rebellion." This is again in the NLT. "It haunts me day and night. Against you and you alone have I sinned." And in following, sometimes we get lost. Sometimes we go off track. And David definitely had and I don't know what all led up to it outside the fact that he was supposed to be in battle leading his people and he wasn't. God had anointed him as a king and he stepped away from that for whatever. I'm sure There are more reasons in scripture. Do you know more? Just keep rolling.
Okay, I'll keep rolling. so when he gets back on track, he's he becomes repentant and realizes that his rebellion was that he stopped following what God had told him. It was against him. Yes, he had sinned against Bath Sheba and her husband Uriah and the people in a big huge way, but ultimately it was he forgot who he was following. Yeah. And so it's a great reminder for us to bring it forward to us today is I need to be sure that I am following Christ.
Yeah.
And I therefore how do I know I'm doing that? Well, the place I go to first and foremost is the word.
Yeah.
And I you know, people always talk about the will of God. I don't know who I'm supposed to marry. I don't know what job I'm supposed to take. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. But the will of God is clear in scripture of how I am to live, how I'm to treat others, how I'm to treat this world that I am I'm in. and it's clear that God has set out for us how to follow him. We need to be able to do that.
So, are you covered in the dust of the rabbi that you follow, Jesus Christ?
Have a great week.