The Cost Of Following Jesus
LENT 2022 | DAY 3
Matthew 4 (NIV)
(Gordon Tan, Associate Lay Leader)
READ:
Matthew 4, focusing on v18-25 (ESV)
Matthew 4:20 – Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:22 – Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:25 – And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Luke 14:25-27 – Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple”.- And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
OBSERVE:
As I read this very familiar passage on the calling of the disciples of Jesus, I am struck by the immediacy of their response. I wonder what they saw in Jesus to elicit such a response. And as I read on, I could see that they must have become more and more convinced about their first reaction. Jesus taught and proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom of God with authority and soundness of argument. And he accompanied that with miracles, “healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” No wonder great crowds followed them.
I was then struck by the meaning of Luke 14:25-27. Many may be drawn to the attraction of the gospel but only those who remain faithful to the end are the true disciples. We could be willing to follow Jesus because of answered prayers, miracles and blessings. But the real test is to continue being Jesus’ disciples despite the answered prayers, despite the promises of God’s blessings. To be a disciple, we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus demands our total commitment and faithfulness. Even if we are faced with the painful choice of loyalty to family versus loyalty to Jesus, we must choose Jesus. Even if it means huge personal costs, we must choose Jesus. It is not self-denial or sacrifices; it is about counting the cost to stay 100% faithfully devoted as a disciple. It is about absolute surrender. It is about an undying love for Jesus.
APPLY:
How am I counting the cost of discipleship? Is my love for Jesus one of convenience? Is my discipleship a transaction, one where I will remain a follower if I get something out of it? Am I following Jesus motivated by the desire to achieve self-denial, to feel the power of self-discipline?
Or is my discipleship one where I am totally in love with Jesus? A love willing to stay faithful to whatever the end is. A covenant love so unbreakable that nothing changes my promise to stay by Jesus’ side to the end.
DO:
As these thoughts strike at my heart, I bow to pray as the father of the child in Mark 9:23-25 did – “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” I struggle to believe that I can remain faithful to the end. I struggle to find a love in me that is so deep that it can overcome all. But I know that from my tiny faith, faith smaller than a mustard seed, God will honour and bless that prayer. I may not be able to bear the cost of discipleship, but I know that as long as I take one step at a time, one step of hanging on each day, God honours that. God will give me the strength to keep going.
For Jesus says to me (2 Cor 12:9, 10): “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
PRAY:
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for your immeasurable love for me. How you have provided for me faithfully, even when I was less than faithful. How you protected me each step of the way, even when I was afraid and cowardly. How your grace has forgiven my sin, my failures, my stupidity, when I could not find the ability to forgive and accept myself. Take this little faith of mine, make this little prayer of mine to be an offering of love, so that you can multiply it for Your Kingdom’s sake. For Jesus’ sake I pray. Amen.
