The Cost of Being a Disciple
In chapel yesterday, our speaker read Luke 14:25-33. It is about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. Here is a portion: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple… So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Our speaker talked about some new believers in a Muslim country. One met with a Christian for two years before he made the decision to turn his life over to Christ. Another spent eight months contemplating living life in a “new way,” the way of Jesus Christ, before he accepted Christ. This is often the process Muslim believers go through when they accept Christianity. They are not thinking about the things, attitudes or behavior they will have to give up. As good Muslims, they most likely already live disciplined, moral lives. Instead, they are “counting the cost.”
They know it is not an easy decision. They know they will probably lose family, wives, husbands, possessions, jobs and respect–in fact everything they have and all they aspire to. In those months or years before conversion, they consider whether the person and claims of Jesus Christ are worth what it will cost them to follow Him. Therefore, after they make the decision to enter into a relationship and service to Christ, they are already prepared to suffer and die for His Name.
Last night, I visited a monument to Christian martyrs. It is a moving display with the names of martyrs through the centuries etched on the black surface. There is a book where visitors can record their thoughts and reactions as they view the monument. One person wrote, “I hope I would have the same courage these people have shown, if I ever experience persecution.”
This is a sentiment I see often echoed among American Christians. “I don’t know what I would do if an angry police officer was standing over me, threatening me, asking me to recant my faith. I hope I would stand up for Christ.” I’ve thought this myself. When we make our decision to follow Christ, we often do not consider the cost of following Him. We do not face the same opposition that Christians in other parts of the world face daily. We do not typically think of death or loss as part of our “deal” when we become Christians.
However, when I look at the words of Christ, I realize this is a wrong way of thinking. We should already have decided what we would do. It would be foolishness to make a decision, such as the one to turn over our lives to Christ, if we have not already decided to follow Him completely. In order to be His disciple, we must be ready to give up everything. Our mindset would not be, “I hope I will be able stand up for Him,” but instead, “I will, for I must, for the sake of Him who offered His life for me.”