There was a time in my life when I used to enjoy watching comedy series. In fact, I used to like one or two of them so much that I watched the entire series a dozen times. Consequently, it was always a cause for excitement when I met someone who said that they too were a big fan of the show.
So imagine if I came across someone then and enthusiastically asked them, “Which is your favourite episode in the series?” They shrug and reply, “It’s all okay, I guess”. I would be a little taken aback but press on. I ask, “How about the season finale? Did you like how they ended it?” To that, they say, “I’m not really sure I remember how it ended”. Now I would be suspicious and pose one last question. I ask, “What did you think of this particular character in the series?” They reply with, “There’s a character with that name?”
Now I am certain that they have either lied about having watched that series or that they have misunderstood this series for another. If a person claims to follow something, it is not unreasonable to expect them to know it well and for it to exert some amount of influence over them. We also see this in fans of sports teams, movie stars, and political parties.
So let us talk about those of us who claim to follow Christ. Is it sufficient to offer a kind of lip service in which we claim to follow Christ or do others see it in our passionate discipleship to Him?
Take a minute to list out five things that are most precious to you in this world. But be brutally honest. What gives you the most joy, imparts a sense of accomplishment, and encourages you to base your identity upon? It might be anything under the sun and it might vary largely from person to person. Now, if the Lord convicted you to let go of those very five things to either draw you closer to Him or to prove your allegiance as a disciple, would you do it? For that matter, would I?
In Luke 14, Jesus warns that many will try to follow Him without giving up the people, comforts, and possessions most dear to them. Then He explains the disastrous results of doing that in three illustrations – the builder of a tower, a king about to enter a battle, and salt that has lost its saltiness.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” Deciding to follow Christ on the spur of the moment without being prepared to be in it for the long haul is a sure way to get ridiculed. You might begin with an emotional zeal that might not get you very far as a disciple of Christ. Starting strong and proclaiming your new-found faith – only to fizz out since you didn’t estimate the cost of living as a disciple does not set a very good example.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Although becoming a disciple of Christ is costly, not following God’s standards and rules while we are on Earth will end up with us paying a much more costly price – utter destruction. Every law that is given for us to follow is for our benefit. We ought to approach God’s commands, not as one would view a sadistic dictator but as a wise and all-knowing Father.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” A Christian offering only lip-service, half-hearted in his pursuit of holiness, and in his best shape only on Sundays is useless to himself and others. It is the tragedy of the modern-day church that most people who claim to be Christians do not have even a basic understanding of Christian doctrines and are no different from anyone else. If you do not take the time to get to know the Word of God, learn to give up your self and grow as the Spirit leads you, you are of very little use to the Kingdom of God.
Even as Jesus spoke these words in Luke 14, He was on His way to Jerusalem for the last time. He was on the way to carry the cross and pay the price of your sins and mine. In those days, the cross was a symbol of torture and death. If you lived in first-century Jerusalem and came across a man carrying a cross, it would be safe to assume that he wasn’t coming back. In the same way, if we are serious about our faith, we will discover that it will cost us everything we have. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6: 19,20)
Many of us wrongly assume that conversion is a one-time event that is radical and final the moment we pray “the sinner’s prayer”. We fail to calculate what it will cost us to remain committed to the life that we have just signed up for. Dear friend, while salvation is free, discipleship is costly. There is no way to be faithful to Scripture and down-play the heavy price that each of us is called to pay. C.S. Lewis expresses our supposed predicament in these words, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
It is something like this.
My husband and I find a property that we would like to acquire. However, everyone we know is opposed to us buying it. They remind us that the price is exorbitant and that even the location cannot justify such a price. Early one morning, we drive there to survey the land and to have an idea of the surrounding properties. Once there, my husband stumbles on something sharp sticking out of the ground. As we stoop to examine what it is, we make the most incredible discovery of our lives. The sharp object that stuck out the ground is connected to a chest that is filled with the most dazzling precious stones in all shapes and sizes. We quickly leave the property with a newly-hatched plan. We methodically sell everything we own – one after another. Our car is the first to go, then our current home, our bikes, and all our possessions. People who once respected us now look upon us with thinly-veiled derision. Well-wishers and friends look upon our actions with horror. “Is it really worth it? There isn’t even a house on the property!” We thank them warmly for their concern and assure them that we still retain control over our senses. Once they leave, we look at each other with knowing smiles and giggle – barely able to contain our glee.
This gives us a good idea of what it means to give up what we have here on Earth in exchange for the glory that will be revealed (Romans 8:18). In the words of Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” So are we like that man who stumbled upon the treasure in the field as we read in Matthew 13? Jesus leaves no room for doubt when He says, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) Are we willing to carry our cross and accept the pain and suffering that will undoubtedly come our way because of our allegiance to Him? Do trials and temptation bring us to the realisation that God makes good His promises or does it lead us to have hardened hearts and a sense of being wronged?
It all boils down to one thing – will you choose to pursue a life of comfort, fame, and materialism or a life of obeying Christ? If you are blessed with comforts, riches, and fame, will you hold on to them so loosely to release them at a moment’s divine notice? What do you really value? What makes your heart beat quicker? What do you spend the most time thinking about? Let us make time to analyse ourselves and figure out if we are willing to place all our trust in Christ instead of our position, money, inheritance, or possessions. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). The cost of following Jesus requires that I give up anything that distracts me from Him or anything that I might be inclined to trust in more than God.
Does Christ reign supreme in my life? Am I willing to give up everything for the sake of following Him? “The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honour and glory.” (Jonathan Edward)