Real Discipleship?
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple… 33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26-27, 33
We find time to play our games, convinced that God wants us to make sure we have an overabundance of leisure time, knowing we are exhausted by the avalanche of spiritual work we do. I speak tongue-n-cheek, knowing that MOST of US do very little for the work of the Kingdom for which we can claim exhaustion. We teach our children how important it is to excel in the extra-curricular activities, but not the things of God. And they have learned well the lessons we have taught them. Just look at the empty pews. We speed off to various places to spend devoted time with the family touting the will of the Lord to put family FIRST. While I know the importance of family, I really do, does the family know how important Jesus Christ is to your life by the choices you make and by the conduct and character of your life? We keep what we’ve got, and fail to give sacrificially to the work of the ministry and to those in need, proclaiming God’s demand to be a faithful steward. And we all know that a faithful steward knows the future is unsure so better to have than to give, just in case, there is a run on the First Bank of Heaven (God isn’t laughing). And besides, if I give too much then I won’t be able to have all those things that I know God wants to bless my life with, things I can put in front of my relationship with Him. We excuse our absence from the work of God due to our time constraints, family obligations, or physical maladies, but we find the time and energy to do the things we want to do (sporting events, family outings, or personal vacations). We do a little for the Kingdom, and call it a lot … at least by the standard of someone else: I am better than they are, or I am doing more than they are. So what! What God wants is true devotion; a life character by self-sacrifice in His service. What God deserves is the same.
Jesus said, REAL DISCIPLESHIP is characterized by what or who is first in one’s life, and what or who one is willing to give up to serve the Savior. Are you a disciple? Oh by the way, Jesus seemed to speak of discipleship and salvation as synonymous, equating one with the other. I wonder what that means.
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple… 33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26-27, 33