Jesus was the master at getting people to follow Him with both feet. 

We see the disciples demonstrating this by both receiving the words he taught and giving themselves to the mission he exemplified.  It’s obvious, they were not perfect, but it was Jesus who kept them balanced.  There were some, I’m sure, who were tempted to ask Jesus to stop moving around so they could just listen to Him talk.  There were others who knew what Jesus could do, and were probably hoping he’d shorten his sermons, so they could get busy in whatever they hoped to accomplish. 

Jesus’ disciples had to use both feet.   They had to learn how to take what He was feeding, and how to give what they needed to share.

As disciples of Jesus, we need to do the same.  If only one foot is doing all the work we’ll just wind up going in circles.  We might be staying active, but it doesn’t mean we are making progress.

We need to check our balance and avoid leaning towards becoming either One-Footed Takers and One-Footed Givers (explained in the previous post) and become Two-Footed Followers.  It’s not only imperative for our personal growth, but for the health of the church.  Churches need two-footed followers.  Here’s why…

I’m going to describe this in terms of walking through an overgrown jungle. (Partly because that’s what church is like, but more-so because I can’t get the picture out of my head.)

Two-Footed Followers share the WHOLE experience.

Imagine that we are on this journey through a lush overgrown jungle and we are creating our own trail with machetes.  During the day we swing and chop our way through, and then at night we set up camp.  We spend the evening by the fire talking about the progress we’ve made, telling some stories and eating a meal.  In this scenario, it would be strange if there was a guy who we always saw at the campfire but never during the day.  He always showed up on time to eat the meal and enjoy the stories but because we never saw him during the day swinging a machete and clearing a trail, we couldn’t share the whole experience with him and neither could he share it with us. 

On the other hand, it would be just as odd to have a girl show up every morning with machete in hand to spend all day with us clearing away jungle growth and then disappear when we started to set up camp.  We would sit by the fire and wonder who she is and why she doesn’t stick around.  We’d wonder about the machete girl, not just because she’s weird (because she is) but because we want her to share in the WHOLE experience. 

Campfire Guy is missing out on how hard the work of the journey is, while Machete Girl doesn’t get to share in the joy of what that work has accomplished.

Two-Footed Followers share the VISION

If we are swinging machetes and marching through a lush overgrown jungle it is probably (hopefully) because we are headed somewhere.   If I know this is the case then there is a reason I’m sitting by the fire listening to what the plan is for the next day.  I’m listening because I believe that where we are headed is worth making a trail for.  I’m also waking up in the morning with machete in hand because I’ve heard the plan, I know the route we’re about to take and I want to be a part of clearing away the trail.  By doing both I’m sharing in the vision.  It’s not just that I know the vision; I’m living it with the rest of the group.

Two-Footed Followers share the RESPONSIBILITY

What’s nice about Campfire Guy is that he’s a great listener and he even laughs at your jokes.  The problem with him is that because he doesn’t pull his weight during the day it kind of feels like he hasn’t totally bought in to the project.  When everyone else is sharing in responsibility of showing up in the morning ready to clear away jungle, he’s nowhere to be found.  It might be that he just can’t get his alarm clock to work right, but either way he lacks the discipline to make it happen.

Machete Girl is great because she clears away a TON of overgrown jungle.  The problem is that because she disappears in the evening when we talk about how things are going and where we’re headed her trail often begins to look just like that…..her trail.   When everyone else is by the campfire looking at maps and learning how to better use their machetes, she’s nowhere to be found.  She lacks the discipline and responsibility of being part of the group. 

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The Two-Footed Follower will share in the experience, the vision and the responsibility because they have chosen to be “all-in”.  They show up, they see what’s ahead and they do what they should do to find success.  For those in the jungle it is about clearing the trail to reach their destination.  For followers of Jesus, it’s much more. 

Let us follow Jesus with both feet.  We don’t want heads that are too full from taking, or hands that are too tired from giving that we forget why we were called to follow Him in the first place.  It’s loving God and loving others.  It’s knowing Him and making Him known.