The Cost of Discipleship

The Lord Says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” 

He goes on further, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” 

And if still a bit unclear, the Lord says, “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” 

And one more final attempt to create understanding, the Lord says, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” 

 “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” 

So then, The Lord makes it very clear that to be his disciple, everything in your life, large and small, will be altered. There is a cost of discipleship, and the cost is the right to your human life. This birthright is waived and ended in rebirth and baptism of The Holy Spirit. This new birth will reflect a truly new life born inside you, which makes you a different person, thus altering all the things in your life. Because you are a different person, living in the same flesh.  

The new birth in the same flesh creates you to be at odds with yourself, the things you once desired, sinful thoughts and actions and all the people you have known and interacted with. As you work out the new life of Christ in you, the old life is slowly squeezed out, which reflects the falling away of the old life piece by piece.  

This is why Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” This sounds like a mean statement on the surface, from human perspective, but from spiritual understanding and experience, which is the life of Jesus, he is simply saying, if you really want to follow me, you are asking for a brand new life, so are you really ready to say goodbye to your old life and everything in it.  

Because once I change you and make you new, this new life is lived by faith and not sight, so this new life is traveled completely different than the road you used to travel on. On your new road, most people will fall out of your life one by one. The habits and desires you once had will also fade and change as you grow and mature in the new life I have provided. As time goes on, your new life will be completely different. Over time, the Lord restores all things and new people will enter your life. 

So, Jesus is saying, take note of what you are asking, and be certain that you are truly asking for a new life. If you want a new life with Jesus, he happily provides this by his Grace and Love alone. The new life is free of charge and requires nothing except asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and asking him to be the Lord of your life.  

Now, if you really accept the new life that Jesus provides, you must follow him. Read his Word, pray in the spirit to Jesus all the time, renew your heart and mind in his Love day after day as he makes you over from the inside. Through prayer and seeking Jesus and the voice of his Holy Spirit, he speaks directly into you. Meaning, the voice you hear inside, will include the voice of the Holy Spirit. The new life, involves learning to hear his voice and being obedient. This requires faith in Jesus. 

As you allow yourself to mature and learn voice discernment from within, The Holy Spirit is allowed to grow and build in power as your obedience and faith grow. This growth becomes the manifestation of the Lord in you, allowing him to live his life through you, which was designed before you were ever born.