Considering the costs of discipleship can be kind of bummer. Jesus’ words draw hard lines. Last week we looked at Luke 9: Don’t look back, leave your family, leave the familiar, leave the ideal—leave everything. Jesus gets even more intense in Luke 14: A disciple will renounce all that he has, and hate his mother, father, brother, etc… Those costs seem too steep until we also consider the worth of what we are receiving. It is inestimable. Romans 11 talks about the depths of riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. The costs of discipleship are temporary, but the gains of discipleship are eternal.
I keep thinking about, as self-centered as it may be, the price tag that was on my life. It didn’t matter how much it was, there was no price too steep for God. There was no price he wouldn’t pay for my life. When he considered the costs, Jesus said, “You are so worth it.” Before the foundations of the world God said, “Oh yeah, I’m willing to pay that ransom because I want her with me forever. I love her.” He says that about me, he says that about you, and he says that about his bride and his church. Of course, we are getting the better end of the deal. He gave life; we rejected it. He gave us new life; we abuse it. And, somehow in some glorious way, he will eternally be giving us life.
Sometimes when I read scriptures on discipleship I think to myself, Good Lord, I couldn’t be any worse at this. Usually, it is quickly followed by a Thank you for mercy, God. I’ve been thinking recently, though, how discipleship is rooted in love. When we realize the love God has for us and the price he paid because of that love, the costs of following him don’t seem as steep. Or, perhaps, they seem worth it to us. 1 John 4 says that we love because [God] first loved us.
Discipleship isn’t a list “don’t do this and don’t do that”. It’s a boundary line that keeps us in the care of our greatest lover. It is a boundary line drawn by love, and we are able to stay within them because we’ve been taught to love. It’s less about our willingness to pay the costs of discipleship and more about our willingness to learn to love.
I’m beginning to see these boundaries line
Were meant for me so I can find
Discipleship is an invitation to receive and give love the way God does, to live in love the way he does with the Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The only way we can possibly obey this commandment is by learning how to from God–love–himself.
Consider these thoughts on love through the filter of discipleship. A selection from 1 Corinthians 13:
If I have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal
If I have not love, I am nothing
If I have not love, I gain nothing
God is love
Love does not insist on its own way
Love is not arrogant
Love rejoices with truth
Love believes all things
Love never ends
Faith, hope, and love remain; but he greatest of these is love
Brave Sparrow 
This is so good.
” The costs of discipleship are temporary, but the gains of discipleship are eternal.”
Thank you!
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