I Confess
It's been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Being called a Jesus Freak, to me then, is the highest compliment one can bestow on me. For me, it's not the size of the cross that I wear around my neck; not the size of the Bible I carry; nor is it the size of the mega church I attend that defines me as a Christian or do I wish to be defined.
I don't want to impress you with my Biblical knowledge or spiritual maturity. I'm not asking you to applaud my moral convictions or keeping of commandments. It's not about my clean cut appearance or conservative attire. Not my party affiliation, number of prayers I pray or how often I go to church. I'm not counting good deeds of charity or winning lost souls.
It's none of that....and all of that....and so much more....
It's about being "like" Him. I didn't say "acting like Him", but "being like Him". Being a Jesus Freak is a state of being. It is being (pardon) "freaky" about Jesus! Waking up to Jesus; going to bed thinking of Jesus; speaking to and listening to Jesus; reading about and studying Jesus; worshiping and praising Jesus; and everything in between. Jesus morning, noon and night!
Some say it's fanatical; going overboard. I say, "I'll be a fanatic jumping overboard!" Why is it when we see football fans with painted faces and crazy costumes yelling and jumping up and down in zero below weather and pouring rain, we don't consider them fanatical. What about the crazed fans at a rock concert; screaming with tears streaming down their faces? Or how about the millions of people who hypnotically follow celebrities, politicians and leaders?
Why only when one confesses to be a "Jesus freak", eyebrow get raised. If I were to say i was a "Hitler freak" or a "Saddam Hussein freak", then I might expect that kind of response. But Jesus? Really?! Who wouldn't want to follow and emulate the one man who changed the whole world?
Our whole existence is centered around Him; BC/AD. He changed how the world regarded women and children; education, compassion, humility, forgiveness and humanitarian reform were all transformed by the religion He founded. The spiritual and moral examples He laid out is without equal.
Yale historian Jeroslav Pelikan wrote,
"Regardless of what anyone
may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been
the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost 20
centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull
up out of history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his
name, how much would be left?"
Maybe if there were more, not less Jesus freaks walking around and being sidelined, we'd see more of the good transformations in the world of the caliber that Jesus Himself left. If one man could change the world and still affect it still 2000 years after His death, how much more a world full of those "like" Jesus?
Yes, I confess I'm a follower. I'm a Jesus Freak!
