Did I Sign On to Follow Jesus Or Not?

We people of faith can spend endless energy stewing and worrying over the details of following Jesus.  We'll do sermon series about it, have small groups about it, market and consume scores of Christian how-to books about it, and chew up endless Sunday School hours having interesting discussions about it.  We'll talk about about what it "really means" to follow Jesus and how we fit that in with work, soccer practice, fantasy football, spin class, and all the rest of our impossibly overbooked lives.  Too many times we focus on talking and learning about following Jesus and never get around to actually following him!  I'm not judging anyone.  I am chief among sedentary Christian navel-gazers.

In his blistering and transformative book, COSTLY GRACE:  A CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF BONHOEFFER'S  THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP, Jon Walker points out that following Jesus is not just something to add to my resume.  Following Jesus is to BE my resume!  I no more ponder on how to fit it into my life than a paratrooper decides to jump out of a plane when it feels right or when it is convenient.  Using this analogy, Walker says this: "When paratroopers are trained to jump from a plane, they have to reach a point where they do not hesitate at the door...They cannot approach the threshold then decide whether or not to jump.  It's not the time to debate whether the plane is at the right altitude or going the right speed.  It's not the time to question if they are over the right target or if the pilot knows where he is going.  It's not the time to question if they were really ordered to jump or if they should wait to jump until they are absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt certain the jump will be safe.  The real question is: did you sign up to be a paratrooper or not?  (emphasis mine)  If the answer is yes, then they must learn to jump without reservation or hesistation.  They must trust that the plane is at the right altitude and going the right speed, that they are over the target, and that the pilot knows what he is doing."  (page 49.)

So the real question I have to answer is this:  did I sign on to be a follower of Jesus or not?  I'll see you around the next bend in the river.