THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the gospel will save it.”  (Mark 8:34b-35 NIV)

As evidence that cross-bearing must become the true disciple’s way, Jesus offers His listeners the paradox of Mark 8:35. The “life” saved or lost is the Greek “psyche,” which includes a threefold dimension: “life,” “soul,” and “oneself.” Clearly, all three meanings are intended by Jesus’ declaration. The blatant expression of physical cost had already been highlighted by references to suffering and the focus on the cross, a device of physical torture. But here there is an additional sense of “life” as well.  A sense of individual identity, of “oneself” and the unique “soul” that animates every living person, is part of the natural desire of self-preservation that Jesus turns topsy-turvy with His words. Jesus’ rhetorical question, “What can they give in return for their life?” (Mark 8:37) leads His listeners to the conclusion that only “life itself” can be offered as an adequate response to the gift of life. For both the disciples and the crowds who had up to this point been enjoying a journey of triumph and miracles, Jesus’ new message was both sobering and hard to swallow.

Today the cost of discipleship is still sobering and hard to swallow... The final comment offered by Jesus, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulteress and sinful generation, of Him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father and the holy angels,” (Mark 8:38) reminds His listeners, and us, that whatever choice we make, for Jesus or against Him, there will be eternal consequences. 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the SoulCafe”

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FREE BUT COSTLY – Part 2 of 2

Then Jesus said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it.”  (Luke 9:23-24 NIV)

In offering ourselves as fully as we can, we discover the cost of discipleship. For to bind our lives to Jesus Christ requires that we try to walk with Him into the sorrows and sufferings of the world. Being bound to Jesus Christ, we see barriers broken down and we are led to places we have never been before. Having offered ourselves to Jesus Christ, we may expect to become the eyes, ears, voice, and hands of Jesus Christ in the world and in the church.

The cost of salvation? It is completely free and without cost. The cost of discipleship? Only our lives -- nothing more and nothing less. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God” 

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FREE BUT COSTLY – Part 1 of 2

“Yet to all who did receive Him to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”  (John 1:12-13 NIV)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16 NIV)

Salvation is free, but the cost of discipleship is enormous. I try to hide from the truth, but when I read the Gospels and seek to live in communion with God, I discover both parts of the statement are dead-center truth.

I can do nothing to earn my salvation. My redemption is a pure gift of grace, a gift offered to me without qualification or reservation. I am God’s child and no one or no thing can change that fact. Jesus Christ lived, died, and lives again to bring this gift of salvation to me in all its fullness. My faith can appropriate this gift, but even my greatest doubt cannot change its reality. I am God’s beloved, embraced in God’s love for now and eternity. All words are inadequate to describe the extravagance and grandeur of the gift of salvation. Our hymns of praise and gratitude fall lifeless before the immensity of this gift. We simply and humbly offer all that we are to the One who offers us the option of becoming more than we are. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God” 

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DISCIPLESHIP… COUNTING THE COST

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ‘If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else -- your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters -- yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost.’”  (Luke 14:25-28a NLT)

In the corporate world, the phrase “the cost of doing business” is self-explanatory. There is an expected cost associated with leading or owning a business. It may be purchasing a building, paying employees, or buying a new vehicle, but I don’t know many people who jump into a life of discipleship and ask about the cost…

Living as if following Christ has no cost is like charging a credit card to its limit and then asking the bank to change the balance back to zero. Just as Paul wrote, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2)  Don’t get me wrong, discipleship is not a works-based system, but it does require our obedience and devotion.

Christians are fond of celebrating the lavish grace and unfailing compassion of Jesus, but we are sometimes hesitant to discuss the expectations of following Christ. But what a disservice to the Lord, especially as we remember that pain that He willingly endured so we could receive that grace. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that “salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.” What is discipleship costing you right now? 

-- Excerpted from “Altar’d: The Transforming Power of Surrender” by Susan O. Kent 

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THE MEANING OF DISCIPLESIP

“Wherever I go the people say,
‘What’s the news? What’s the news?
What is the order of the day?
What’s the news? What’s the news?’
Oh, I have got the Good News to tell.
My Savior has done all things well.
He triumphed over death and hell.
That’s the news. That’s the news.”
(from the old Welsh hymn “Beyond Live and Beckoning Stars”)

That’s the good news of the gospel wanting to be born in you…

Are you ready to say with Mary: “Let it be, to me, according to Thy word”? Are you ready to say with Jesus: “Not My will, but Thy will be done”? Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.

Are you ready to pray the greatest prayer ever uttered, the simple but great Amen… “So Be It”?

The symbol embodying the most fundamental meaning of discipleship is the cross, not the ladder. We glory in the cross of Christ, not the ladder of success, a ladder kicked away forever when Jesus slipped on the Via Dolorosa.

Remember this: There are no rungs, only nails, on the cross. 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

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THE PLUSH SEATS, PLEASE

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.’”  (Mark 10:35-37 NKJV)

Within the New Testament, there is no indication that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy, and successful in this present age. ... Christ never told His disciples that they would get an Academy Award for their performances, but He did tell them to expect to have troubles.

This age is interested in success, not suffering. We can identify with James and John who wanted choice seats in the kingdom. We might even ask for reclining chairs and soft music. 

-- Billy Graham in “The Faithful Christian” 

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IMMERSION IN THE LIFE OF JESUS

“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”  (Proverbs 3:3-6 NLT)

Conversion without immersion in the life of Jesus Christ is perversion of the gospel. St. Augustine talked about “the costly grace” of God. Discipleship, servanthood, costs us everything. Everything must go. Genesis 2:25 conveys this powerfully in the image of nakedness: “and the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.”

Dorothee Soelle wrote, “To be naked means to be without protection; it is to be unarmed. It requires our surrendering ‘the weapons’ that we usually carry around with us. My credit card, my doctorate, the books I have written -- the whole fortress in which I live -- are all ‘clothes’ that I have to get rid of in order to love.”

To find favor is to be called to disarmament, called to defenselessness, called to discipleship. 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

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THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”  (Matthew 16:24 ESV)

And if we answer the call to discipleship, where will it lead us? What decisions and partings will it demand? To answer this question we shall have to go to [Jesus], for only He knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow Him, knows the journey’s end. But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy. Discipleship means joy. 

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer in “The Cost of Discipleship”

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THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  (1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV)

We need not wonder about the cost of discipleship. We need only look upon Jesus on the cross. There we see the awful cost of the ministry that is offered in the life, nature, and spirit of Jesus.

The cost is awful indeed. But if our work introduces men and women to Jesus and to God’s love, this cost must be accepted. In our own self-emptying, those who gaze upon us may see Jesus. In our conviction, people may be convinced to look upon the cross of Jesus and say, “Truly this is the Son of God.”

We have heard it said, “We can never wear the crown until we bear the cross,” but for those who willingly enter into the sufferings of Jesus, the cross is their crown, and they wear it with dignity and submission. 

-- Norman Shawchuck in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

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