What’s next? As I write this, Easter has just passed. All the lead-up to our celebration of the resurrection of Christ is behind us. Lent, Good Friday, fasting, focused prayer, all the activities usually structured around Easter are now in the rear-view mirror. I had the privilege of seeing three different services and witnessed many proclaiming their need for Jesus after the message at each location.
This is certainly to be celebrated and applauded as many more seek to give their lives to Jesus and help build His Kingdom here on earth. But now what? What happens after Easter? What becomes of those seeking to place their faith in Jesus? What becomes of we who experienced great renewal during this season? What’s next?
As stated in a previous post, Easter is my favorite day of the year. How can we take the celebration and commitment of this day and turn it into a daily and life-long habit? How do we as followers of Christ spread the message to a generation quickly turning away from the Church? I believe it begins with each of us. We are Christ’s ambassadors in this world. As His disciples, we have pledged our allegiance to Him and are committed to doing whatever He commands us to do. Unless our lives reflect His love and His will, we are not going to be able to share His message with a skeptical world.
I was amazed at the number of hands raised for making a commitment to Christ this past week. Praise God for it. But what’s next? How do we help each of those individuals understand fully what their commitment means? How do we avoid the creation of another generation of nominal Christians? My fear is we’ve had a bunch more people raise their hands and say a little prayer. And then that’s it. Sorry, but that is not a commitment to Christ. At best it is a confession of Him, but discipleship demands more. Following Jesus requires an intentional daily walk and commitment.
Which brings me back to our own daily commitment. How do we keep this thing going in our own lives? What changes do we need to make to ensure the flame doesn’t burn out now we’ve moved past the glorious celebration? Now the fervor has waned, how do we keep it going? What’s next and how do we help the large number of folks who confessed Jesus on Sunday live lives wholly devoted to Him on all the Mondays to follow?
I don’t have all the answers, but I know this: If all we who proclaim Jesus as Lord would take just one of these people under our wing and teach them what it means to follow Jesus, we could impact this nation and our world in ways never before seen. While it certainly helps, you don’t have to know how to disciple someone. You simply need to have the willingness to serve and support a new believer. Help them understand what a daily walk with Jesus looks like. If we don’t do it, who will? In the same way, if we don’t make the necessary changes in our own lives, no one else will do it for us. What’s next is up to each of us and will look different for me than it will for you. Just do the next right thing and let God take it from there. What’s next could forever alter the life to which you’ve been called.