We should all want to be fierce followers of Christ. As a people, it seems Christians have lost a lot of the aggressiveness of those who came before us. For whatever reason, it has become fashionable for Christ followers to cower into passivity, doing whatever necessary to keep from offending anyone. This isn’t the life we saw modeled by Jesus. He wasn’t afraid to step on some toes when necessary. While he was the most gentle, caring, and loving person to ever walk this planet, He also possessed a sharp tongue and an intense passion for the truth.
He didn’t let those who were perverting the truth slide by unnoticed; He called them out. Jesus pointed out what was wrong with the world and rebuked demonic influences in it. He was as quick to chastise those teaching false standards of living as He was to gently heal a person trapped in a life they did not want to live.
To be fierce followers of Christ, we need to orient ourselves towards action. Our propensity is to live safe and comfortable lives. I think such a lifestyle is the antithesis of living a fierce life. We should be passionate and unstoppable when it comes to loving others and building the Kingdom of God. We’ve been given a mission. Time is incredibly short. Our time in this life is but a breath, here today, and quickly gone tomorrow (James 4:14). There is no time to waste. Every day we must be focused and fierce followers of Christ. Nothing can be allowed to stand in our way.
I believe this is the kind of life Jesus imagined for us when He stated He had created us to live abundantly (John 10:10). Abundance has often been misunderstood and wrongly taught to mean materially blessed. I find no support for this in Scripture. The abundant life is the one consumed by Jesus. To live in abundance is to see the fruit of the Spirit of God manifested in our lives. When this occurs, we will indeed become fierce followers of Christ. We can’t help but be otherwise. Until Jesus is everything to us, we will not live an abundant life. He is everything; there is nothing but Him. The only thing standing between us and the abundant life promised by Jesus is our desire to take hold of it.
Fierce followers of Christ are not distracted by the temporal pleasures of this world. They understand there is Jesus and there is everything else. And they choose Jesus. What would your life look like if you determined to become fiercely devoted to God? Imagine living a life revolving around Christ alone. If you love Jesus the way you profess to, there is no more beautiful picture for our minds. Don’t lose this image. What needs to change in your life for it to be characterized as fierce? In what areas have you lost your intensity for Jesus? As I’ve said before, we’re either all in, or we are out. I want to be all in. I want to live a life of fierce devotion to my Creator. How about you?