What Kind of Boss is Jesus?

I recently completed one year in a new role at the Food Bank, working as a fundraiser. It reminded me how thankful I am for my boss. A good boss makes a world of difference.

In the first century, the earliest followers of Jesus called him “Lord.” That means they thought he had the authority to call the shots. Beyond the Jesus tradition, people from many different backgrounds relate to God like a boss. He gives the orders, they execute.

That raises the question: What kind of boss is Jesus?

With most bosses, your relationship is based on how you perform. In return, you have certain expectations of your boss: They’ll resource you to do the work, pay you a fair wage, and stay out of your personal life if you don’t want them there.

If you think of God like this, you might say, “If I follow the moral and religious rules, you know, at least decently, then God will bless me.” Do the work; get the paycheck.

But those are not the terms of employment that Jesus offers. Instead, Jesus says:

Follow me.

Jesus’ invitation is not to give him part of our lives, like we give our work to our boss. He asks for everything. “Follow me” means “Learn from me how to live life like I do.” Putting Jesus’ teaching into practice gets dicey: no part of our life is off limits.

But the flip side of this all-in invitation is how God compensates us when we follow Jesus. He doesn’t base his relationship with us on our performance. Here’s how an early follower of Jesus described being alive with God:

. . . this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

In life with Jesus, God doesn’t cut us a check; he gives us a gift.

When you say yes to that gift, you won’t want to hold anything back. It’s because the gift of life is so good that we’re free to say yes to a “Follow me” that demands everything.

If Jesus came to you today and said, “Follow me,” do you think it would be worth it to say yes?