Cost of Discipleship
“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 NIV
As we begin a new day, we decide whether we want to follow Jesus. It is a daily choice. Regardless of what happened the day before, we face the call to discipleship at the dawn’s early light. Will we or won’t we?
Discipleship is not to be taken lightly. Just as we intentionally choose our clothing each day, so also do we choose to follow Jesus. Like Peter, as an early disciple, we too may have wonderful intentions, but following through is something altogether different. I believe this is where we get stuck. Our imagery becomes saturated with words and we become bogged down in idealism that keeps us from actually carrying out our mission. Moving from intentionality to action is both risky and incredibly costly, which makes discipleship a challenging endeavor.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, addresses this idea of discipleship. Grounded in grace, he reminds us, “Discipleship is an act of obedience, not a confession of faith in Jesus.” (The Cost of Discipleship, p.57) In other words, discipleship is more than the words we confess; it is allowing those words to become actions. These actions are what makes discipleship costly.
Over the years, I’ve learned the Gospel is more than just what I say. Do not get me wrong, we need the words. The words are our starting point. The question is do we allow the words to inform our actions? We can say all day long we love God and we love our neighbor, but what happens when we are not actually doing it? What happens when the words of Jesus are stuck in our heads and they never really become something we actually do?
One of the greatest examples we have in Scripture is watching the growth of Peter from his initial calling to his last days of ministry. Peter himself went from a man of great intentions to a man of real action. This took time. No longer was he promising one thing and delivering something else. This transformation was evident in the fruit his life produced. Honestly, it wasn’t so much what he said, but rather it was what he did. His actions were a true testament to what he believed. For Peter, it became a choice. He chose to act on the very words he had been given. He chose to follow. The cost was high, but in the end, by denying himself, taking up the cross and following Jesus, he became the authentic disciple he was called to be. Peter’s story is our story. The real question is what will we choose?
“By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35 NIV
