I’ve often said that I’m an impractical nerd.
There are plenty of nerds who apply their knowledge to solving the world’s biggest problems. I just read that a team of scientists achieved nuclear fusion for the first time. Doctors are big nerds but they’re nerdy prowess is directed to saving and preserving lives. Alycia, my wife, is a giant biology nerd, which can be used to better understand the world in which we live.
I can identify an episode of The Next Generation by name within 20 seconds of turning it on. I also know the ins and outs of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and why we’ll never see Spider-Man or Wolverine in an Avengers movie. And if you want someone to defend George Lucas and the prequels, I’m your man.
All that to say, I’m a pretty simple nerd. Which is good because following Jesus is actually pretty simple.
This week at youth group we talked about Mark 8:34-38.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Jesus’s call to discipleship is actually very simple. All we need to do is deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. Simple.
It’s simple but it definitely isn’t easy. We can wrap our minds around Jesus’s calling but we can spend our entire lives attempting to apply it to our lives.
I shared this passage with our students this week. I feel like this is one of the most important passages that we can apply to our lives. If we can heed Jesus’s call and do everything we can to live it out, then we will become the people God created us to be. If we can deny ourselves and give Jesus our entire lives, then there’s no telling what he can do through us.
Whether our nerdiness has practical applications or not, we can all follow Jesus. His call is simple and if we take it seriously our lives can be completely transformed.
What helps you follow Jesus simple call?
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