Following Jesus Isn’t For Everybody

While the modern evangelical church faces challenges with followers trying to mold Jesus to fit their preferences, the reality is that the first-century Galilean doesn’t offer us that choice. The way of Jesus wasn’t for everyone then, and it isn’t for everyone now. The God of the universe made flesh doesn’t make it easy for those ensnared by earthly desires.

Jesus calls us to:

• Choose love over money
• Embrace forgiveness over power
• Show grace rather than hold grudges
• Prioritize giving over accumulating possessions

Jesus’ teachings focus on loving God and our neighbors, not on self-promotion. Jesus values the meek, the mourners, the peaceful, the poor, the outcasts, and the rejected. Often, those whom society deems as “losers” or “less than” are the very people Jesus cherishes.

The Gospel isn’t a guide to becoming successful, rich, or an “influencer.” In fact, Jesus teaches that it is incredibly difficult—almost impossible—for the rich to enter His Kingdom.

• He is a King who became a peasant.
• He is royalty born in a stable.
• He is greatness in a simple, unassuming package.

Jesus doesn’t conform to any box we try to fit Him in. His Kingdom places love above all, and the greatest in His Kingdom are often the least on Earth. If your pursuit in life is power, money, and influence, the Kingdom Jesus promises may not be for you.

That said, Jesus loves all and accepts all — but if you’re trying to make Jesus fit the desires of your heart, you are trying to force Him to follow you . That is not the way of Jesus. If you want to call yourself a follower of Christ, you have to let your desires match His heart — because His heart isn’t flawed.

In embracing Jesus, we embrace a path that challenges us to live beyond ourselves, focused on love, grace, and humility.