Numbers 14:7-9, Luke 10:27

Liz Dumain

I wonder if you have a Facebook account? In my experience people either love it or loath it! Facebook lets people share all kinds of things - news, photos and even what you had for breakfast. It also lets you be fans of Facebook pages and follow other people.

I looked up 'fan' and 'follower' in a dictionary recently - this is what I found:

Fan: an enthusiastic admirer usually as a spectator
Follower: one in the service of another or one that imitates another

I wonder what you are a fan or a follower of today?

In Numbers 14 the people of Israel really got tested as to whether they were fans or followers of God. They had experienced all kinds of amazing things in their 'God journey'. God had sent Moses into the land of Egypt to rescue and deliver them from slavery. God threw 10 massive plaques at Pharaoh to get him to release them. God then literally parted the Red Sea to get them out into the land he had promised them. To enter into this Promised Land, all they needed to do was trust God and follow him.

About two years into this 40 year journey is where we find them in Numbers 14. The Israelites sent twelve spies into the Promised Land to check it out. The spies included two men called Joshua & Caleb who went and had a good look around.

When the spies returned, 10 of them came back with a bad report. They said they had seen giants and they would never be able to defeat them. Remember, God had just got them out of Egypt with one of the greatest displays of His supernatural power the world has ever seen including plagues and parting a sea!

Joshua and Caleb eventually speak up in verse 7, 'The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them'.

Joshua and Caleb are more than just fans of God, they are followers, who remembered what God had done for them in the past, and so believed they could trust him whatever.

Joshua and Caleb saw the same things the other spies saw, but they saw it through Gods eyes and they trusted God so completely that they believed he could sort it out and that changed the whole way they looked at the world.

Life can be tough sometimes and it's then that we find out who are the fans and who are the followers.

Luke 10:27 says, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind...love your neighbour as yourself.' This verse sums up the difference between being just a fan and being a follower.

Fans don't mind Jesus making some minor change in their lives but followers know, and love the fact that Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down and inside out.

Fans watch from the sidelines, followers get stuck in. If you choose to watch from the sidelines, then you'll see from the sidelines, you'll experience from the sidelines.

How often do we wonder why our lives with God feel so dull and dry, when we're actually just living from the sidelines?

I wonder if Jesus is saying to us today what He said to those Israelites. 'It's easy to be a fan - but will you be a follower?'.

I read this recently, 'Fans are here today and gone tomorrow. Following takes commitment. Following takes sacrifice. Unfortunately the church today is filled with fans rather than followers. We have people in our pews that are fans of the building they gather in. There are those in church today who are fans of the preacher or the worship leader. There are those who are even fans of Jesus, but they have never made the transition to become a follower of Jesus. It is time for you to declare your loyalty. It is time for you to decide if you're going to be a fan or a follower of Jesus Christ'.

Fan or follower? I know which I'd rather be. What about you?