Luke 14:25-33 NLT
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Being a disciple of Jesus is hard. It involves sacrifice, going against the social ‘norm’, loss and suffering. Jesus makes that very clear. He doesn’t want us to enter into life with Him without first knowing the costs.
Jesus tells us that as disciples of His, we’ll face persecution, ridicule and possibly even death.
“Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you.” John 15:20 NLT
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.” Matthew 5:11 NLT
“And all nations will hate you because you are my followers.” Matthew 10:22 NLT
Yes, it is difficult to be a disciple of Jesus.
In verse 26 of Luke 14, Jesus says that to be His disciple we must hate everything else – our mothers, fathers, children, spouses, brothers, sisters and even our own lives. Of course, He doesn’t mean we must literally hate them; we are to love each other as He has loved us.
What Jesus is saying is that to be His disciple we must put Him first. We must surrender our life to Him. We must put God first. We must put the Kingdom first. No matter the cost.
This is not a small ask. And Jesus does not pretend it is. He is open and honest about what it means to carry your cross and follow Him.
Why should we follow Him?
When we become a follower of Jesus we gain so much more than we lose. The joy and peace we experience as His disciple is indescribably magnificent. It is better than anything we could ever imagine.
All of the struggles are bearable because He lives in us. Therefore, we are never alone. Our strength and courage come from Him. And we have the gift of eternity with Him when our time on this earth is over.
In the past, I lived as a believer in Christ, where I had one foot in faith and the other foot in my own selfish world. Eventually all of me was pulled into my selfish life and I lost focus for a time. I was miserable, angry and self-destructive.
When I returned to my faith and surrendered myself at Jesus’s feet, I felt an overwhelming peace. I felt like I could truly breath for the first time in my life. I felt free. And I still do.
Being a disciple of Jesus and following His purpose for my life is the greatest gift I have ever received. But my life is not without struggle and sacrifice.
Putting Jesus first meant responding to His call for me to be a missionary in the Czech Republic. I left my family, friends, culture and language to do what He asked of me. The last three years have been some of the most challenging of my life. But they have also been some of the most joyful.
Is it costly to be a disciple of Jesus? Yes.
But it is worth it.