Follower or Fan

“They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’” John 12:19

“’Here is your King,’ Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, ‘Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!’” John 19:14b, 15

The loud howling and yelping of a pack of coyotes in the woods below our mountain home sent a shiver up my spine, startling me as I sat down to write an Easter devotional. I often go out on the patio and look down into the trees and oak brush, hoping for a sight of them, knowing some innocent creature has become their prey. Seldom do I hear the cry of their victim, as they come upon it and tear it to pieces. But their cries of victory and bloodlust echo through our small valley.

This morning I was reminded of the cries of the Jewish leaders and people on a long ago day in Jerusalem as the innocent Son of God stood before them, bloodied by their lashings and reeling from their blows, yet not speaking a word. He knew His death was imminent, but He stood in silence, hearing the people who proclaimed Him their king a few days before, denounce Him and hail Caesar as king.

He wept over the city, saying He longed to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings for protection. But they rejected Him in favor of corrupt leaders and a foreign power which would eventually destroy their city and scatter them like leaves in the wind.

I just completed a Bible study which challenges those who believe in Jesus to decide if they are a fan who hangs on while it is fun and popular, then fades away as someone else rises to their attention, or a follower. To be a true follower you stick with your decision through bad times and good. You don’t just have the cap and t-shirt, your loyalty is branded on your heart, unchanging no matter the consequences, a life-time commitment that often demands your all to keep.

This week, perhaps more than any other on our calendar, those who consider themselves followers of Christ are reminded of the cost He paid on our behalf, the suffering He bore that we might live. Unlike the innocent prey of the coyotes, we have a chance to escape the torture of a life without hope, and a death which holds no hope of release from suffering.

Which group will you be in, those who proclaim Jesus King of their lives, or those who fall prey to the lie of temporal pleasure?