You’d be hard-pressed to find a more concise, yet complete, definition of a Christian as this one from Eugene Peterson:
“To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us.”
To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us. – @DailyPeterson
Here’s the full context:
“To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us.
To follow Jesus means picking up the rhythms and ways of doing things that are often unsaid but derivative from Jesus, formed by there influence of Jesus. To follow Jesus means that we can’t separate what Jesus is saying from what Jesus is doing and the way that he is doing it.
To follow Jesus is as much, or maybe even more, about feet as it is about ears and eyes.”
This is from The Jesus Way: A conversation on the ways that Jesus is the way.
Peterson died in 2018. He was a professor at Regent College in Vancouver BC, a pastoral theologian, and frequent author. He also wrote The Message paraphrase of the Bible. Peterson was a consistent voice for pastors to be pastors rather than corporate CEOS, and his books were deeply influential for me.
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