Today I read Luke 14 & 15, and my attention was caught and held by Jesus talking about counting the cost of following Him, which is something I was thinking about a couple of days ago. He gives two examples of someone starting something without the ability to see it through, and how foolish that is. Then in Luke 14:33, he says, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." In other words, He's not hiding the cost of following Him, He's up front with it, and we ought to take it to heart. I know that God has been working on me in this area, but I also recognize that I have a ways to go, or at least that there are things that I haven't really considered giving up, and I need to seriously consider them, and be willing to give them up to God.
I guess it makes sense that a disciple of Jesus would have to give up everything - after all, that's exactly what Jesus did. If He's to be my role model, I need to look carefully at the way He lived this out. He was born into a human body, and the rightful Lord of all gave up everything that He deserved to become like us. He gave up His right to control, and submitted Himself to a life, and death, of humility before being raised again into eternal glory. Philippians 2:5-11 says it well, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: / Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, / but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. / And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! / Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, / that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
If Jesus could humble Himself, and He deserves all the glory, then surely I, who want to be His servant, am not above humbling myself. If He could give up everything that was rightfully His, then surely I can also give up everything that is rightfully His. Surely nothing can be more important or valuable than my soul, my relationship with Jesus, and following Him wherever He leads. Of course, it's easier to say it than it is to commit to it, and to do it, but my hope and prayer is that God would strengthen my spirit to enable me to follow through with what I've begun. It's time for me to start looking at everything I do, have, am, desire, or plan as belonging to Him and not myself, in a much fuller way. My time is His time, my talents belong to Him, my hopes and dreams are subject to His will. It's time for some serious discipleship.
No comments:
Post a Comment