January 24, 2018
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” – Matthew 16:24
It’s hard, I get it. Discipleship is difficult, I understand. To follow Jesus means to go against everything the world, and even our own flesh tells us will bring joy and peace. This is a constant day-in day-out kind of battle. But Jesus warned of this ahead of time. We must remember the context of Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:24. At this point in time, the cross was not the symbol of redemption that we know today, but was universally recognized as an instrument of torture. Discipleship is incredibly costly! Because of this, we are tempted to give up on discipleship. We are tempted to have a faith that never grows. We are tempted to settle for a surface Christianity that never takes up the cross of Christ. We are tempted to live a life of nondiscipleship.
Please, brothers and sisters, do not choose that path! Though the cost of discipleship is great, the cost of nondiscipleship is much, much greater. In his work “The Spirit of the Disciplines,” Dallas Willard wisely observes, “Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life that Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10).” So why put in the hard work? Why pay the price of discipleship? Because only in being a true follower of Jesus, made more into his likeness every day, do we find the kind of life that we were all created to enjoy in God.
Mighty Heavenly Father, please keep us from the trap of surface Christianity. Let us take up our cross daily, face the cost of discipleship, and grow ever closer to You.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon <><