Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27, ESV)
There is a cost to following Jesus. In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus encourages us to consider the cost of following him. As we consider the cost of following Jesus, it is also important that we consider the cost of not following Jesus. While there is often a great cost to following Jesus, there is an even greater cost to not following.
The American church has been about making members for a long time. The trouble is that being a member of a church is not the same as being a disciple of Jesus. Being a member of a church may be part of being a disciple, but I can be a member of a church without being a disciple of Jesus. There are a couple of things I believe that distinguish membership from discipleship.
Jesus is Lord
This is the big one. We often look to Jesus as Savior. We rely upon him in times of trouble. We look to him to comfort us in our grief. Most importantly, we look to him for salvation.
Jesus is not only Savior, but he is also Lord. But I like to be my own Lord. I don’t want anyone else telling me what to do. But with discipleship, I am humbled to the point that it is not about what I want, but about what Jesus wants.
Privilege vs Service
Membership implies privilege. I join a membership club for the benefits membership gives to me. There is a danger when we treat the church like a membership club and look to what we can get out of our membership.
Discipleship is about serving. It is not about privilege, but about responsibility. My first motivation is not how I benefit, but how I benefit others.
Vulnerability and Accountability
I cannot self-help my way to godliness. Self-help is popular these days, but self-help usually doesn’t work very well. We all have places where we may be stumbling. If we could have self-helped our way to overcome these areas of difficulty, we would have already have done so.
It does no good to go to the doctor and hide your issues. You make yourself vulnerable to the doctor so he can diagnose you and get you the help you need. You do this because you recognize you are not going to self-help your way to better health.
Discipleship is about being vulnerable and accountable with one another so we can help one another. When we focus on membership we often hide our problems from each other and no one gets the help they need. We all silently suffer.
Discipleship Takes Me Out of My Comfort Zone
Discipleship will often make me wrestle with things I am uncomfortable with. Discipleship will challenge my status quo. To become comfortable with the uncomfortable means taking a step of faith. It may mean talking about things I don’t want to talk about. It may mean admitting things I don’t want to admit. It may mean giving things I don’t want to give. It may mean serving in a place I feel out of place.
The point is if I am not being challenged, I am probably not being discipled. Membership will rarely challenge us. Discipleship will always challenge us. It is not easy to be a disciple. But as we count the cost, what is the cost of not being disciple of Jesus? What is the cost of not carrying my cross?
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