It’s Not Enough to Hear Jesus. We’re Called to Do This.

This post was originally in Tammy Melchien’s newsletter. Tammy is the author of Choosing the Opposite: How the Sermon on the Mount Helps Us Rethink Our Assumptions, Recalibrate Our Instincts, and Rediscover the Way of Jesus. Her book is packed with Scripture and teaching on the upside-down ways of Jesus, like you’ll find in this article.

When you think of Jesus, what comes to mind? Merciful Savior? Humble King? Suffering Servant?

What about Brilliant Teacher?

Throughout the Gospels, people constantly referred to Jesus as “Teacher.” They marveled at his wisdom, his stories, his questions. His teachings turned the world upside down–not just because they were radical, but because they were right. Jesus didn’t only come to die for us; he came to teach us how to live in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus knows how life works. He knows the best way to be human. And he invites us to learn from him–not just believe in him.

And learning from him often involves unlearning old assumptions.

When Faith Matures

Most of us grew up with a version of Christianity we inherited from our churches, our families, our country. But how often have we paused to ask: Is this actually the way of Jesus? Is this really what he taught?

The truth is, much of what we’ve called Christianity in the West has been shaped by culture more than Christ. In the opening chapter of my book, Choosing the Opposite, I write: 

“Without realizing it, we’re practicing a faith often more informed by inherited assumptions, cultural influences, and political ideology than by the teachings of Jesus.”

If the way we’re living isn’t bringing more of God’s Kingdom—more justice, more mercy, more humility–into the world, then it’s time to rethink our assumptions and recalibrate our instincts.

It’s not a threat to our faith to rethink what we’ve believed–it’s a sign that our faith is maturing. Author A.J. Swoboda puts it this way in After Doubt: “…to struggle with one’s faith is often the surest sign we actually have one.”

Mature faith doesn’t cling to inherited beliefs unexamined. It submits every assumption to the light of Jesus’ teaching. It listens. It tests. It recalibrates.

It chooses the opposite of self-preserving certainty and instead embraces humility, curiosity, and surrender.

It’s time to unlearn some things in order to relearn the Way of Jesus.

Building on the Rock

Jesus closed his Sermon on the Mount with this challenge:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  –Matthew 7:24–27

It’s not enough to hear Jesus. We’re called to do what he says. To build our lives on his words. To learn his way. If we actually follow his teachings, we will flourish–not in the worldly sense of wealth or comfort, but in the deepest sense of what it means to be fully human. We will flourish in spirit, in character, in relationships, in peace.

So maybe the invitation at this moment isn’t to double down on what we’ve always believed, but to slow down… listen again… and be willing to say:

“Jesus, be my Teacher.”