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The Cost of Being a Disciple In light of various topics which have been discussed at church recently, I've been thinking a little about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Lately I've felt like my faith has been rather luke-warm, and the Bible has harsh words to say about such a position. (Revelation 3:15-16) As can happen to all of us, my faith gets stuck in a rut. Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) The implications behind that are huge, but I think Jesus sums up things pretty well in Luke 14:33: "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That pretty much eliminates being a luke-warm Christian. We're either hot or cold; we've either surrendered all to Christ or we're still holding onto sin. We only become a disciple when we hear the call of Christ and come after him with reckless abandon, casting away our fishing nets and following Christ with no thought of what we will gain and no thought of where Christ may lead us, but still we follow for the simple reason that He called us -- and He that called us is faithful. In order to prevent ourselves from being overwhelmed, it should be noted that Luke 9:23 marks this as a daily surrender. I think we often become overwhelmed with such commandments because we get caught up in the ritual of Christianity; all of the rules and regulations, the do's and don'ts. The Bible warns against simply doing things in the name of Christianity. (Matthew 7:21-23) Only after we surrender our will to Christ can we effectively do anything for Christ -- and then it won't be us doing it, but rather God working in us. God doesn't want our talents and abilities first and foremost; He wants our life. God certainly doesn't need my abilities or your abilities; He could easily accomplish His will without our help, but by His sovereign wisdom He chose us to be His ministers of reconciliation. There are plenty of things I think I can do for Christ, but all of my plans are insignificant compared to what Christ has planned for me. He may very well call me to do something totally opposite of what I ever thought I could do, and so I must each day surrender my will to Him. I've often debated whether Christianity is difficult or easy: It's easy because Christ does all of the work, but it's difficult because He often asks me to do things out of my comfort zone or He ask me to give up something my carnal nature wants me to hold on to. At any rate, I'm sure all of us agree that following Christ is far better than anything the world has ever offered us -- and most of us have probably learned that the hard way at one time or another. In light of all this, I think we need to be constantly and faithfully praying for each other, as I know there are so many things in my own life which I am always trying to hold back from Christ. We should pray that we wouldn't fall into the luke-warm mentality which unfortunately seems to characterize the American Christian. Some may disagree, but I think one of the main problems in the American church is our focus on friendship evangelism, which turns into a good excuse to not share about Christ and just let our "actions speak louder than words." I am convicted by my own weak voice, and I am confident that, although actions are an important part of a Christian witness, seeds will never be planted in the hearts of my friends if I don't verbally explain the difference in me. You may feel just as weak in doing this as me, but if there's one thing that requires the greatest weakness from us, this has to be it. Hey, God didn't give us the Holy Spirit for nothing, ya know. :) --Written by Steven Wakeman (4/22/02) "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, |