Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. (Matthew 16:24)
Background
As a Christ follower we are called to be disciples. There is no other path.
Discipleship requires the immediate pursuit of Jesus. Immediate action. The metaphor chosen by Jesus was the pinnacle for sacrifice – the cross. Bonhoffer prophetically said it well, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life”. Discipleship cost Bonhoffer his life. Discipleship requires that our lives look radically different than what the world offers.
Reflections
What truly informs our view of discipleship?
A few years ago I spent some time honestly reading the gospels back to back a few times. I started getting nervous. Maybe convicted is a better word. I say honestly because it has been easy for me to dismiss the more radical call to discipleship as being a byproduct of cultural differences between Jesus time and now. Gosh, Jesus wouldn’t ask for that same level of commitment for His followers now days? Our lives in the western culture are loaded with so much really important stuff. Important activities. Important demands on our time. We are so busy. I’m sure the cultural requirements of time were so much less intrusive back then. Much easier. Must have been. He wouldn’t really ask for the same level of commitment today…or…would He?
I started to feel like I was missing the point…big time. The call to be a Christ-following disciple isn’t an incremental commitment. It was…and remains…a massive commitment. He doesn’t have a separate commitment threshold for His followers in different eras. He is looking for us to sell out. To give him our full heart. To follow him 100%.
The gospels I was reading were not politically correct. They were edgy. Jesus words were frequently not diplomatic, but very direct. Filled with “salt”. Sometimes a bit too direct for my liking:
- Ignoring the poor, the sick, those in prison and those in need will result in “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:31-46)…these are Jesus’ words, not mine. Now that’s not politically correct.
- The rich young ruler was challenged to “sell all you have and follow me”…and then a few verses later Jesus said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:13-30)…Have you ever wondered why the Holy Spirit desired to include this same story in 3 of the gospels? Maybe for emphasis? Sheez, let’s move on to the next passage really quick.
- A potential disciple whose father died was called to follow Jesus immediately and told by Jesus to “let the dead bury the dead” (Matthew 8:21-22; Luke 9:57-62). Yet another message referenced in multiple gospels. Yet another example of a high standard.
Lord, please forgive me for minimizing your gospel. For sanitizing it. For lowering the standard of discipleship to make it easy and convenient for me. Help me to find truth and to be informed from your word. Not through the prism of today’s culture. It is one thing to understand your message. It is yet another to live it. Give me wisdom and strength to do both. Amen.
There should be no illusion that this path of discipleship was going to be easy…but you better believe it is going to be more than worth it.
What if Christians began truly following the version of discipleship outlined in the bible, not the easier more sanitized version lived by many in western culture? How bright would God’s light shine through our lives? What would then happen to our communities?
What if... 