The Way of Jesus: Chapel Reflection with Greg Brower

For many years, Greg Brower had a successful career in the world of business, and then a humbling discovery changed the course of his life.

“I stepped over a homeless person on my way to work one day, and I realized I didn’t like who I was,” he told members of the Kuyper community gathered in the Vos Chapel on March 19 for a twice-weekly service.

He added that though he was successful in the eyes of the world, his lifestyle left him feeling empty. He no longer wanted to be the kind of person who was so caught up in striving for his own success that he could simply step over the suffering of others.

“So, I decided to quit my job and go to seminary,” Brower said with a chuckle.

The Classis Leader for the Great Lakes City Classis of the Reformed Church in America and former senior pastor of Zion Reformed Church urged his listeners not to fall into the same traps that once ensnared him.

We often think that things like prosperity, power, popularity, and pleasure will satisfy us, he emphasized, but they will always leave us wanting. The only way to find true, lasting fulfillment in life is to follow Jesus.

But following Jesus means doing more than agreeing to a set of religious beliefs, he insisted. Though having faith in Jesus is undoubtedly essential to our salvation, if we aren’t living the way He lived, we are missing an important part of His message.

“The way that Jesus lived is the way we can experience true life and truly be human in the way we were intended to, not just for eternity, but right now,” said Brower.

If we want to have a fulfilling, joyful life, we need to dedicate ourselves to seeking the things Jesus sought, he told his listeners. This doesn’t mean that we all must work in church ministry, but that we reflect the image of Christ wherever we go.

This kind of Jesus-shaped life is what will ultimately compel others to want to follow Him alongside us, Brower said. 

“What if we were the people who don’t step over those who need the love of Jesus most,” he asked the audience, “How would the world be different? And how might people view the Church and Jesus differently if that’s what we were known for?”