The Cost of Being a Disciple
>> Tuesday, February 22, 2011
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Jesus here points out the fact that people routinely fail to plan for the consequences of their decisions. They will rush in to a new project or task, perhaps in a fit of emotion, without thinking clearly about what it will take to successfully complete.
There is a lot of anxiety in the Western Christian world about evangelism that completely ignores the implications of this verse. Jesus appears to be saying that there is a point BEFORE you become his disciple that you have an individual decision about whether or not you are willing to pay for that decision- possibly with your life. You have a decision, even after you know the truth, that will decide your future.
Every message on evangelism I hear seems to focus on getting as many of the "lost" saved as quickly as possible. Doomsday language is used liberally.
'Get them to say the sinners prayer and chalk another one up for the good guys.'
I am seeing that this mindset cheapens the act of becoming a disciple of Christ. How many Christian witnessing tracts have you read that say: "Do not pray this prayer unless you'll hate your family and lose your life before denying Christ"?
The religious are still focused only on what their eyes can see. A person in a pew is goal. As long as my neighbor comes to church on Sunday, I can stop worrying. Or even, nowadays, as long as they are hip to the latest Christian celebrity...they are a disciple of Christ.
Did Jesus think it was easy? He never appears to set up a complicated road to salvation, but he does say that it will cost you everything.
Think hard before you invite someone to church because you think they will like it and get saved. That might be the worst thing that can happen because they have not yet decided if they were willing to complete the journey.
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