Read Luke 14:25-33
The crowd liked hanging around with miracle working, radical speaking Jesus. It was exciting! That is all some wanted. Others wanted more. They wanted to be his disciple.
We don’t mind the word “disciple.” It is viewed as an honor. We like to think Jesus would choose us to be one of His disciples. But the word “discipline” makes us squirm. We know that requires effort, sacrificial choices and dealing with shortcomings. Discipleship puts the two together – the desire to be a follower of Jesus and submitting to whatever training and changes it takes to make us one.
If something is really important to us, we don’t mind the cost or sacrifice necessary to achieve it. For example: A football player who wants to play in the NFL will put in extra time training and take extra good care of his body. He will pay the cost it takes. Going on a mission trip takes time, energy, sacrifice and commitment. Those who are not willing to invest these will never leave home.
Jesus wanted to make sure anyone wishing to be a disciple knows discipleship is costly. He used a very tough word. We translate it “hate.” The Greek word is miseo, which means “to absolutely love less.” To be Jesus’ disciple means to love other people and other things less than you love Jesus. The wonderful thing is, the more you know and love Jesus, the more you will love others and even yourself. But as a disciple, no matter how much you love others, you must love Jesus first and foremost. Your love for others, self and things must then fit within this all-out love for the Lord.
Jesus also said that if they wanted to follow Him, they had to carry their cross. When they heard “cross” they didn’t think about the greatest symbol of God’s love, like we do. They thought of the horrible crosses that lined nearly every road in Judah during a recent uprising against Rome. Crucifixion was the cruelest form of capitol punishment ever devised. It represented the ultimate cost of standing up for what they believed.
Discipleship means calculating exactly what it is going to cost and be willing to pay it. We don’t need to worry about finding a calculator. Jesus tells us up front what it will cost: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Everything we are; everything we consider ours must be given over to Jesus’ ownership and lordship.
Discipleship is costly. But it is definitely worth it, because discipleship makes us like Jesus who was willing to pay the ultimate cost for us.
Making It Personal
In 2 Samuel 24:24, David makes the comment that he would not offer to God what cost him nothing. Why is this a good rule of thumb when giving to God?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, writes about “costly grace,” and “what costs God much cannot be cheap for us.”
How can we carelessly cheapen grace?
Why is it really impossible to love others and self as we should, without truly loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and being?
How will you carry your cross for Jesus today?
Through the Day Challenge
Journal how the cost of discipleship was evident to you today.
