Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Baptist – whoever you are, whatever you think, wherever you live, I hope you’ll read along for at least a sentence or two while I consider this question.
Is religion necessary? No, personally I think it’s a hindrance. If religion matters at all, it matters only because it always gets in the way of the truth. So attaching yourself to a religion, following religious teaching, calling yourself a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist does not, in itself, make you a better person; nor does a name make you acceptable in some way. It merely make you identifiable – part of an organisation.
I follow Jesus, or at least I do my best to follow him (some of the time). All too often I just follow my own inclinations moment by moment, and that sometimes leads to selfishness, hurting other people, and disappointment. If you follow Muhammad, or the Pope, or Buddha – well, good for you! Following a person is always better than following a religion or a philosophy. Do, though, be careful to follow somebody of good character, someone you can trust. The reason I follow Jesus is that he always deals with people wisely, gently, generously, truthfully, and lovingly. I’d like to become like that too. I have no wish to be foolish, harsh, mean, false or hateful – to anybody. I don’t claim to have succeeded in that goal, but it is a goal in my life.
When I first heard about Jesus I was a child. My parents talked about him, and when I went to school we learned more about him. Every school day began with prayers, a Bible reading, and singing a hymn. None of this seemed important at the time, it was just something that happened at school that you had to do – like learning to read and write, or learning multiplication tables and how to add and subtract numbers. It became a bit more formal as the years passed, but it didn’t mean very much as far as I could see. At 14 years old there were confirmation classes (part of learning to be a good Anglican), this too meant nothing to me, it was just something Mum and Dad expected so I sat through it, usually mystified or bored. And at university nothing like this was required any more.
Towards the end of my university course I began reading the Bible. I thought that people were making a mistake following this nonsense and I wanted to find out where they were going wrong. I was an atheist at this time in my life. But as I read I became quite interested by things that Jesus did and said. I began to see that whether Jesus was right or wrong in some of his claims, his character came through clearly and I liked what I saw. He was wise, gentle, generous, truthful and loving – all the things I wanted to be, but could often not manage. This is, of course, only a partial list, but you get the idea – there’s no need to draw up an exhaustive list of character attributes.
And as I read, I gradually realised that this Jesus was probably the best role model and example of living well that I’d ever come across. So I read more. And that is the answer to the question, ‘Why on earth would I follow Jesus?’ For me it’s simply about his character.
I don’t need to write more than that, though I will add that I had started on a journey that would take me a long, long way. But none of the things I’ve learned since have changed that original choice to follow. If anyone starts on that journey they will learn much more about Jesus along the way. When Jesus was walking along the shingle beach of Lake Galilee and spotted some fishermen casting nets into the water; he called to them, ‘Come and follow me and I’ll show you how to fish for people’. They were intrigued, dropped what they were doing, and walked along with him for a while. That is how it starts, the invitation is always there, follow along and he’ll teach you some surprising things about yourself, about who he is, about his character and purpose, and where he is going.
Maybe I’ll write some more later, in another article. But for now, if you do start this journey, are already on it, or don’t even care to begin, I’d just like to bless you and wish you well. Peace, joy, encouragement and hope in your life – in Jesus’ name. He wants those things for you too.
See also:
- Take a look for yourself (many versions and languages, all free to read) – Bible Gateway
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