Discipleship: Just a supplement?

(by Lindley)

Discipleship. What is it? Very often do I hear Matthew 28:19 being preached during sermons about discipleship. To be exact, the verse says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (NLT) The thing is, I’ve often wondered what it means for a Christian to be a disciple of Christ. I’ve been searching an answer to that question, and honestly, I still am. 

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I guess why I’m so concerned about this verse is because, how can one make disciples, if one doesn’t even know what it means to be a disciple of Christ? Perhaps the Bible answers that for us too. Luke 9:23 says, “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (NKJV)

So okay. I go, “Hey God, thanks for answering my question, but that still seems kinda vague to me.” I mean, I think I understand the “deny himself” part, but “taking up my cross daily”? Man. That’s still quite unhelpful there.

But as I was writing this, it just dawned upon me. What it means to be a disciple - it’s all there in that verse! To me, at least. According to that verse in Luke, there are 4 aspects in becoming a disciple of Christ.

1. “He must deny himself”
   I don’t think Christianity is some sort of vitamin supplement to our self-directed way of living. I think the word here is deliberately choosing to follow Jesus’ way, rather than our own.
   
2. “Take up his cross”
   Hah. Tricky one. Initially I thought that the word “cross” meant to be some sort of a burden, but then again, when Jesus was carrying His cross, it only meant one thing: death. So I guess taking up one’s cross means to die to yourself; a call to absolute surrender. It means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Maybe not die, literally, but it could mean losing the things/dreams/ relationships which you deem most important.
   
3. “Daily”
   Self-explanatory isn’t it? I think it’s an important word though, to be placed in this verse. We can’t just decide one day to take up the cross and the next day to just be complacent. That’s not what Jesus called for.
   
4. “Follow me”
   When I picture the word follow, I imagine myself walking along with Jesus, wherever He leads. Just trusting in Him to direct me in life, in my decisions, and in the way I live. And that gives me a very warm, fuzzy feeling. Because I know Jesus leads always in the right direction :)

So. At first glance, it seems tough being a disciple of Christ. And it seems like it’s not worth it too. But take a look at the continuing verse of Luke 9:24 - “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (NKJV; emphasis added)

I think only when we willingly take up our cross, then are we disciples of Christ. And being a disciple? I think that’s one of the greatest rewards there. The reward is worth the cost of being a disciple. The reward of receiving the gift of life in Christ.

I think that the choice to be a disciple of Jesus is not an option for Christians. It is a necessity. We either ‘die to ourselves’ and follow Him, or we seek to treat Jesus like a supplement to our lives and risk deceiving ourselves about our religiousness and lose ourselves and whatnot.

So, I guess the question is, “What path are you on? Are you willing to follow Him? Which will you choose?”