Focus on Jesus
In my free time I tend to be a bit of a YouTube junkie. Recently the algorithms that they use based on the past things I have watched led to me watching about the Reformation. Of course, most people know about Martin Luther and how his influence probably made the biggest impact on helping the protestant movement spread throughout Europe in the early 1500’s. As I learn more about Luther in the videos I was watching I’m captivated by his commitment to following God and also standing up for what is right in the face of some serious opposition. I see what an amazing man he is, and I think to myself, “I want to be like that”. Then the documentary continues on and mentions how Martin Luther did some pretty stupid stuff too, particularly later in his life in writing about his hatred toward Jews. Then I think to myself “Maybe I don’t want to be like him”. Then I learn about how he worked with Ulrich Zwingle which leads me to research videos about Zwingle. Again, at first I hear about the way he was seeking God and diving into scripture and making great strides to make changes in how people worshiped and came to know God I say to myself, “I want to be like that”. Then I hear he too made some poor choices also and then I say to myself “Maybe I don’t want to be like him”. The more I learned about the different founders of the Reformation, the more I was impressed with each follower’s desire to look closely at scripture and try to determine how to best live a life that follows Jesus Christ’s teachings. Yet each one of them runs into problems with their theology and struggled to live peacefully amid the people they were around. To put it simply, they were still human, and they made mistakes.
As much as I want to find that one spiritual person to be a role model to follow and research about, the more I realize that no human is really going to be a reliable role model. Jesus has to be the main role model to follow as no person will really match up to the life he is telling us to live. And to do this, he gave us the Bible as the complete and perfect Word of God for us to go to for advice for living. What is interesting is how much of the Bible is full of stories in which people who are called by God end up making such foolish mistakes. Rather than hide the mistakes, God has provided examples of leaders like King David and Moses, who both made glaring mistakes in their lives, and yet had a heart for God that is very much to be desired. I love that it directs us to look to God, rather than any man, for our provider for life and it’s many confusing twists and turns that it has to offer.
I do think it is great when we find good Christian leaders to follow, but I think we should also always make sure our focus is on Jesus and the Word of God that he has given us, because those are the things that are truly infallible and worth putting all of our trust in.
—Matt Orlob