Luke 14:26-28 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.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a very costly position to fill. In the passages of Scripture above, the Lord is not calling for us to somehow create an emotional hatred to those we are commanded to love. However, He is telling us that if we are going to follow Him, then our discipleship must become our highest of priorities. The influence of family, friends and our possessions cannot deter us from being a follower of His.
Jesus knows where we live. Our human relationships often dictate the paths that we are willing to walk down. We desire to have friends and family join us in our journey with Christ. After all, these are the people that we love and having them with us is a great encouragement and support for the road. I mean, once we have been born again we want those closest to us to enjoy the joy and peace of salvation. We spend much of our energy witnessing to them and praying for them to be saved. Truth is many of them will not join us on our journey and walk with the Lord.
There are many friends that we gain as we live out our Christian life that become very close also. Relationships that are again a support for us in our walk with the Lord. However, they too can hinder us from being a disciple of Christ if we allow them to. What I mean is, there comes a time in each believer’s life that they must decide to be a follower of Christ, or just be a person that will kind of cruise through their Christian life, you know, not take things too seriously. Our love for Christ and the desire to follow Him needs to be able to overcome our earthly relationships. Some of our saved friends may think we are taking our relationship with the Lord a little too far, they may think we are getting a little too religious. However, following Jesus must be more important than any criticism or questions we may face.
The things we possess here on earth can hold us back also. Our homes, jobs, bank accounts. Things that are a big part of our life here on earth. Jesus said we need to be willing to forsake all we have in order to be His disciples. The cost of following Him is high, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. Living our life in the will of God is by far the richest place we can be.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is a very costly proposition. We must learn to not keep too tight of a grip on our relationships and our possessions. The reward is an intimacy with Christ and a pathway cleared by someone worth following.
Become a true disciple today!