The world’s top influencer is Cristiano Ronaldo with a combined number of 517 million followers across all social media platforms; Justin Bieber is not far behind with 455 million followers.
In case you thought the craze was just for sports and music fans, Barack Obama has 221 million followers. Even ‘Pew Die Pie’ (a gamer with an interesting handle) has 141 million followers.
Social psychology says that we follow because we hope to gain something and don’t want to miss out if we don’t follow or perhaps we hope that this leader will satisfy a need that we have (a conscious one or not).
Who is the star that you’ve been following? What are you afraid you will miss out on if you don’t follow them and what need can they satisfy?
When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. Why? The star was going to lead them to a baby lying in a manger. What was so special about this? They knew Jesus was the promised Saviour who had been spoken of through prophecies long ago and they knew he was worthy of worship. Jesus is Immanuel – God with us. God’s precious gift to us – Himself.
Following Jesus is not always easy but Jesus says in Matt 11:28 ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’
Jesus is the true star of Christmas. He is the one worth following because only he can bring us real joy by rescuing us from sin and death and giving us life and peace.
This Christmas, will you follow the true ‘star’ of Christmas? He is unlike any other leader or influencer. He left heaven, humbled himself, became a vulnerable human so that he could die and rise to bring you life and peace with God. He is truly worth following.
Pastor Mike Doyle,
St James Anglican Berala.
