The Cost of Being a Disciple
There is a cost of being a disciple. It doesn’t cost us any money but it does cost us our lives. Jesus “If anyone would come.” He doesn’t twist our arm, he asks. What we pay in sacrifice is more than made up for in eternal reward.
Luke 9:23-25
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Deny Yourself
Jesus is very clear what it takes to be a disciple. There are two steps. It starts with the denial of ourselves. Denial of our flesh is difficult. We want the blessing of both the flesh and the spirit. We don’t want to deny ourselves anything because we are afraid we are going to miss something. This temporal mindset forces us to lose the long-term benefits of discipleship.
Carry Your Cross
The final step of discipleship is to pick up our cross and follow. Many people want to follow Christ without the cross. The cross is the sign of our discipleship. It shows that we have died to the old life and we are now living the resurrected life in Jesus. The old has passed away, and the new has taken over. Where we struggle is giving up the old life. We want our ticket to heaven and all the blessings that come with being a follower of Christ, but we don’t want to be labeled as a Christian. We want to live in our liberty and under grace but eschew any requirements towards holiness. Being a disciple means that we bear the marks of the cross as we follow Christ on the path.