Biggest Fan

By Samantha Rodriguez

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.”—1 Corinthians 4:9–13 (NIV)

Would you consider yourself a fan of someone or something? By definition, according to Merriam-Webster, a fan is an “ardent admirer” or “enthusiastic devotee” of a certain art, sport, celebrity, etc.

When I think about being a fan of something, I don’t think of mere enjoyment or simple admiration. I think about obsession and devotion like how I fangirled over One Direction in middle school. I was a mega fan when it came to One Direction. I had pillows and blankets with their faces on them, their book, all of their music on my iPod, and trivia apps about their lives. I look back on that time of my life with some fear because I truly was idolizing this boy band!

Perhaps you know what this is like. A lot of us still fan over things today. Maybe you’re a mega fan of a certain sports team, a certain musical artist, or a social media influencer. It’s natural for us to be fans of the things we love, but it’s also evidence that we were created for something more! When we fan over something, we begin to associate our lives and our identities with that thing. It can be fun and exciting because it creates unity, but it can also be dangerous if it becomes more important than our devotion to God!

In our Scripture today, Paul writes to the church in Corinth because they’ve been confusing the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of Christ. They found success in worldly things and didn’t experience any hardship in following Jesus because they modeled their lives after what their culture told them is spiritual instead of after Jesus’ commands. Paul tries to remind them, through the example of himself and the other apostles, that following Jesus will make you look foolish and make you susceptible to much persecution and suffering; however, this is what it means to be wholeheartedly committed to Christ—to be His biggest fan!

If we don’t want to get caught up in following the wrong things, we must continually ask the Spirit to illuminate areas of weakness or idolatry within us. We must ask ourselves:

Am I following Jesus in every area of my life?

Is there anything I’m holding above Him (fanning over more than Him) that I need to surrender or give up?

What am I keeping from Jesus because I don’t want to worship and obey Him with that part of my life?

My hope is that we can find ourselves being the biggest fans of Jesus above anything else in this world! He alone is worthy.

Pause: Take a moment to reflect on at least one of the questions listed above. If you have a pen and paper, jot down what comes to mind.

Practice: Whatever you jotted down or thought about in response to that question, pray about it and ask God to take control of that area of your life. Perhaps you can eliminate social media, music, or television for the day and instead focus on praying and reading the Bible.

Pray: Jesus, my Savior, thank You for giving Your life to save me! I’m forever grateful for Your grace and mercy that I’m so undeserving of. I need You Jesus, and I want to fully commit to following You with every part of my life! I struggle with surrendering ___________ to You. Today, I commit that to You and ask You to help me be your biggest fan! I love You so much! Amen.