WATCHWORD:
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “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. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” Luke 14:25-35
Meditation:
Cost of Discipleship, Part 1 of 3
NOTE — The problem I have in writing these meditations, is that I often wait until my morning time with the Lord to see what he wants to say. I can’t tell you how many beginnings I have scrapped over the years, starting out to write what I thought was inspiration, and then losing the train of thought. This meditation is in three parts, and started with a strong sense of the Lord’s leading. Having now completed Part #1, we shall see what develops with Parts #2 and #3.
Over the months, we have heard a great deal about polls and the census, and what they might reveal. George Gallup contends that fewer than 10% of evangelical Christians could be called deeply committed. Most of those who profess Christianity don’t know basic teachings and don’t act differently because of their Christian commitment. Fewer than 50% say they read their Bible once a week, or not at all.
Being a disciple of Jesus can be hard. Salvation is both absolutely free and yet it costs you your very life. You receive it freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it, you have just committed everything you are to Jesus Christ. Absolutely free?
I remember a story out of the sermon I heard years ago. The preacher was saying that a friend offered him a free ride in his airplane. He just got his pilot’s license and he was so proud of that accomplishment. If I accept his invitation for a free flight, I have just committed my very life to him. If he learned his lessons well and he flies safely, I’m safe. If he crashes, I die. The instant I say yes to his free offer, I am totally committed to him. I have entrusted my life into his hands. Free flight?
You cannot follow Christ superficially. The Galatians is in Paul’s day, wanted to take a little of this, and little of that, mixed it with Moses laws and fold in a bit of the teaching of Christ. You bake that for 45 minutes at 350°, and there’s your pipedream. The Judaizers wanted it both ways, but Christ, would have none of that.
Can you imagine the large crowds that were following Jesus, hearing him say that to be his disciples you had to hate your mother and father, your wife and all those other loved ones? It is amazing that there wasn’t a stampede for the exit. Let me get out of here, hate my wife? She’d kill me! Besides, I don’t own a cross!
Do you know what Jesus would say to those exiting crowds? I think he would say ‘bye-bye’. Jesus knew that many in that crowd were following him for selfish or superficial reasons. Maybe they heard about the healings that he did, and thought that was pretty cool. But Jesus is not a false recruiter. He weeds out those would follow him for superficial reasons, or for style, or because my friends are part of that church, or that church offers a much broader customer base from my business! (That last, I actually heard!) Discipleship carries demands.
That same pastor, with the pilot friend, spoke of those demands. He pointed out that there are many in evangelical circles who draw a distinction between salvation and discipleship. They say that salvation is God’s free gift, but discipleship is costly. They would also say that while every believer ought to pursue discipleship, it is not linked to saving faith. In other words, there are some who are truly saved but who never committed themselves to being disciples. They say it’s possible to receive Jesus as Savior but not follow him as Lord.
Well, we will both think on that, until tomorrow. See if we can sort out that reasoning. Hmm, superficial believers? I think it was to such followers that Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship and he doesn’t want to recruit anyone under false pretenses.
To follow Christ truly, we must consider the cost. Amen?
Bulletin Board:
Every now and then, the right chord is struck, and God’s Word becomes a verb –
“I really needed Watchword yesterday (July 1). Nothing really bad happened, but just everything happening all at once. I felt alone. I felt exhausted, not up to the challenge. Like a failure. I felt like the proverbial small boat in a vast ocean all day. Then, when I sat down to go through the emails, and finally read your Watchword, the prayer was for me an Evening Prayer for Peace. I feel I can exhale. Thank you. You are doing good work, Dad. (Thank you for sharing, daughter, dear.)
Hope no one finds this offensive — An old man goes to a church, and is making a confession:
Man: “Father, I am 86 years old. I have been married for 60 years. All these years I had been faithful to my wife, but yesterday I was intimate with an 18-year-old.”
Father: “When was the last time you made a confession?”
Man: “I never have, I am Jewish.”
Father: “Then why are telling me all this?”
Man: “I’m telling everybody!”
Morning Prayer:
As I start this day, help me remember that I belong to you, and my desire is to act accordingly. Keep my feet from stumbling and my mind from wandering into distractions that could steal precious time and energy from the most important things you have designed for me. I’m proud to be your child, Lord. And I’m so grateful that you died for me—rising again on your own new morning—so that every day could be filled with the wonder of your love, the freedom of your Spirit, and the joy of knowing you. Amen.
