In the Gospels, Jesus invites others to “Follow me.” He makes that same invitation to every one of us today.
Implicit in this invitation is a journey. Jesus is inviting us to let Him lead us somewhere. If you choose to accept this invitation you are not signing up for a life of ease or an up-and-to-the-right life. Yes, deep joy, peace, and hope are on offer, but you are also signing up for a journey of trust, surrender, and acceptance that necessitates wrestling, battles of will, sacrifice, and pain.
Following Jesus is about more than saying a prayer. It may start there, but it is about being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. To mature. That looks like loving what He loves, hating what He hates, seeing how He sees, forgiving how He forgives, wanting what He wants, responding how He responds, etc. And that takes intentionality and time…a lifetime actually.
Throughout the centuries, many attempts to categorize the life of faith have been made. This categorization is called “stage theory,” and though they are generalizations, the goal is to have a frame of reference for where you are, to better live your stage, and appreciate where others might be without judgment or comparison.
We can’t encourage you enough to start a journey with Jesus. And no matter where you are in your journey, we would be honored to walk with you.
Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich wrote The Critical Journey to describe six stages of faith. It has proven to be helpful for many. To help you name your stage, they created a spiritual life inventory that can be found here.
