Discipleship

“Whosoever doth not bear his cross…cannot be my disciple.” Lk 14:27

Brenda Goodine says, “My friend decided it was time to talk to her bright four-year-old son, Benji, about receiving Christ. ‘Benji,’ she asked quietly, ‘Would you like to have Jesus in your heart?’ Benji rolled his blue eyes and answered seriously, ‘No. I don’t think I want the responsibility.’” Now, you may not like Benji’s answer, but you have to admire his honesty. He wasn’t just thinking about the rewards of discipleship, he was thinking about the responsibilities it brings.

Brother Lawrence, a French monk, put it this way: “Let us think often, that our only business in this life is to please God.” Imagine asking yourself before each action, word, or attitude, “Is this pleasing to the Lord?” How different would your life be? How would your decisions impact the people around you? Jesus said, “Whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Crosses were not made to live on, but to die on. Every morning when you wake up, go into the bathroom, look in the mirror and say, “Today, I’ve been called to die to self-indulgence, self-interest, and self-promotion.”

Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” And that is the essence of discipleship. Furthermore, Jesus said if you are not willing to do it, you “cannot” be His disciple.

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