Virtual Following

Bill Gates, yes the real Bill Gates, joined Twitter January 19.

Are you interested to know what Bill thinks or what Bill is doing throughout the day? If so you’re not alone. On the first day of Bill tweeting he was picking up 1,000 followers a minute!

Though the pace cooled off later to 100 new followers a minute it certainly can be called a watershed moment in microblogging.

After several imposters appearing in the blogosphere in recent years now the real @billgates can be followed.

All of this “following” makes me a bit nervous. Following is being redefined right before our eyes.

Virtual following is really a type of voyeurism. By that I’m meaning the definition of “an obsessive observer of sensational subjects.”

I’m on twitter and facebook and some other social networks and enjoy some of the interaction so I’m not trying to kill everyone’s fun.

The point is that when Jesus says to a potential disciple, “Follow Me”, He’s not inviting you to merely observe or watch. Jesus invites us to “do life” with Him.

You don’t watch Jesus go to dangerous places and engage in risky relationships. You go and do likewise, with Him.

You don’t watch Jesus care for the needy or oppressed. You give care also.

Following Jesus involves more than reading a few lines or tapping a few keystrokes. Following Jesus is a plunge of your whole life, not your screen life or username, into ventures that literally hurt and damage your life. Like Jesus, you become “poor” so that others know His “riches”.

Are you a follower of Jesus?