Discipleship reality check…

// June 29th, 2009 // OUT LOUD THOUGHTS

“…whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple”

- Jesus; LUKE 14:33

At times, I think I’ve made “disciple” and “Jesus follower” so simple, so weak, so shallow.  I think all too often it means something drastically different than what we’ve seen lived.

Being a disciple doesn’t mean that you live some teachings of your master.  It means you take on the life and lifestyle of your master.

In Luke 14, Jesus shares a few examples of what that looks like: taking up a cross, loving Him so much that the way you treat your life in sacrifice would suggest that you hate your life.  He talks about the cost involved.  He’s very specific, concise, clear, and speaks pointedly.

Because this is what HE did.

And He wasn’t asking people to merely follow Him because He did it, but He was asking them to do the same – to lose everything as He had for the sake of others.

Be my disciples.  Take on my life and lifestyle.

“Do as I did” – it’s really the simplest way to put it.  Jesus was saying, “What you see me doing, you go do.  I’m giving you authority and power and a mandate.  That’s all you need.”

But we don’t think of making disciples who do those same things.  Heck, our “disciples” don’t even do what we do.

So we’re not truly making disciples.

Or maybe, we’re not disciples ourselves in the first place.

These days the Church doesn’t have a reputation for dying for its people.

1 John 2:6

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