What does it mean to be a follower Jesus?

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2: 6-7

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

I have been challenged by this question many times over the years by fellow believers who make some rather strange statements about what it means to follow Jesus.  While I do not doubt these folk's sincerity, I do question there theological wisdom!  Here are some examples of what I have heard.

To be a follower of Jesus means to follow his teaching.  It means to live a moral and upright life.  It means to love others.  It means to be his agent of change in the world.

While I agree with these general statements, I have two questions.  First, what is His teaching?  Second, how do I do these things?

I am not asking these questions merely to be a pain.  I think so many people never really think about it.  They have been brought up in church or they became part of a church.  They pick up from the general belief systems of other believers and from the messages preached that they need to get out and do something in the world.  The most natural thing to do is work hard to be a better a person.  We know we should work hard to be humble, to love others, to bring light to the dark world, to etc., etc..

Is that what Jesus really taught?  

A sidebar to this discussion is a belief that says Jesus is a second chance.  He is our ticket into heaven.  Belief in him wipes the slate clean, and makes us responsible to live a godly life.

I have heard this line of thought from many different denominations and I have heard the general message preached and proclaimed from many pulpits.  Yet, is this what Jesus taught?

He said, "Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches."  John 15: 4-5

How do we abide?  By our works or by faith?  Are these mutually exclusive categories or do they somehow work together in the process of transformation?

I think the often missing ingredient in our spirituality is the concept of repentant faith.  How did we receive Jesus Christ as Lord (to clarify the quote from Paul that I started with)?  We receive him by repenting of our sins and by embracing Jesus by faith.  This same process is how we are to be built up and established in Jesus by faith.  

In other words, faith is not merely our ticket into a relationship with Jesus, but it is the means of growth.  Without a growing faith, we will not be able to live a moral life, love others, or be an agent of change in the world.

With all of this in mind, what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

A follower of Jesus Christ is in a growing relationship of dependence upon Jesus.  This dependence is evidenced by a growing understanding of our sinfulness, which drives us to repentance and a clinging to Jesus as our only hope.  Such repentance and faith then works out in our life as a growing humility and a deeper ability to love and serve others.