Luke 13-14: Costly Discipleship
I love self-help gurus. Among my favorite are John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard and Stephen Covey. Maxwell does this really neat mentoring program once a year called Exchange. It sounds awesome. I would love to go. It costs about $7000 plus travel. I keep saying that costs too much.
I once contacted the Covey organization to see about getting a coach to help me manage my work and goals, to mentor me in pursuing life with balance and vigor. I can’t remember the cost. I simply remember saying–”Whoa, that’s too much for me right now.”
Then I come to Luke 14:26-33 and I get stuck. I’m not sure what to make of this for my life. Becoming a student of Jesus costs way more than going to Exchange or contracting with a Covey coach. I balked at the price for those. However, I seem to think I’m paying the cost to have Jesus as my mentor when He has asked for everything. Granted, I understand that Jesus’ cost is not meted out by writing a check. But that is what makes it difficult to do and easy to deceive myself.
What if I had called up Jesus and He had asked for a check? What if He had said, “Every month, I want you to write me a check equal to the value of your income, your possessions, your family, etc. Then I will run your life for you”? Would I do that? Right now, He has said I can keep it all and just use it. However, I have to remember I am a steward. None of this belongs to me. I have to use my money, my time, my relationships, my opportunities, my abilities, my everything the way He would use it if I just handed it over to Him.
This needs to be a moment of rigorously honest self-examination.
I also can’t help but think about the state of modern religion. As more and more churches and Christians argue and defend entertainment based worship and service. As more Christian living seems to be a defense of just doing what people want to do anyway with increasing defense of immodesty, drinking, gambling, and so much more, I struggle as I hit this passage.
Jesus said being His disciple would be so costly it would be like taking up a cross. Today we seem to be making it so easy it is more like slipping on a bathrobe.
I don’t know what we should really say about this. I just know it worries me. It worries me for our generation. It worries me for our churches. It worries me for our families. Most of all, it worries me for me.
I need to do some examining. I hope you will do some as well.
ELC
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P.S. I am currently working on a version for the Old Testament. Hopefully, by the time we are done with our present trek through the New Testament, we will be ready for the Old.
