Not A Fan

What if someone told you that they were not a fan of God?

I remember driving home one day with my mom Freshman year. Every day, we passed by a church that has one of those small billboard things that talk about upcoming events or a random Bible verse. What really caught my eye one day was that it said "We are not fans of Jesus".
Obviously, this stood out to me, and I found out later that that was the whole purpose.

I ended up Googling "Not A Fan" because I figured it had to have some sort of meaning other than that they were a church that didn't like Jesus because obviously that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I ended up finding out that Not A Fan is actually a movement. They have videos, online stories from the "Non-Fans", and a book. So.....I bought the book.

It opened up with the definition of a fan: an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime,celebrity, etc. A fan is someone who goes to every football game to support the Cowboys. A fan is someone who wears a lot of Cowboys t-shirts, has a Cowboys bumper sticker, and dresses their baby in a mini Cowboys cheer uniform. A fan is someone who really really likes it when the Cowboys win. But what do they do when the Cowboys lose every game of the season or if he or she moves to a different city? Are they still going to support the Cowboys? Chances are, they probably won't. 
When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. Obsessed. Like, it was really weird. I had all of their albums, went to 2 of their concerts in a span of 3 months, and had a lot of giant posters on my wall. But, needless to say, the Jo Bros have gone out of style. And, as in madly in love as I was with Nick Jonas, I'm not anymore. 

Are you seeing a pattern here? A fan is someone who is 100% devoted when things are going great, but their passion fades when their object of adoration is forgotten or unliked. 

The book went on to explain that the majority of people who claim to be Christians aren't really completely devoted followers, but just fans. The fine line between fandom and devotion can appear blurry on the outside, but God is never fooled. He knows where you place Him in your heart. 

Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

So many people who think they love God, don't see that they're actually just fans. They profess with their mouths that Christ is their savior, but they fail to live out their faith.

Maybe fans just want to get to heaven....or maybe they want to seem like a devoted Christian. Either way, they don't truly love the Lord.

A completely devoted follower is one who loves God more than anything. Their life truly proves their faith. A true follower is told constantly that they don't need to "take this whole God thing this far..." One of my favorite quotes made me thing for a while about what category I could possibly fall under:

"The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

I sincerely hope that you think long and hard about which category you would fall under: fan or completely devoted follower. Your decision makes a difference of eternity.

P.S. Faith Noah- you've had my Not A Fan book for over a month so I hope you've read it by now ;)