JIM WOOD

There were twelve who received that special invitation to follow the Lord Jesus. They responded by leaving all—employment, homes and friends. For three-and-a-half years they committed themselves to accompanying him, supporting him, doing his bidding and following him.

There were thousands of others who followed him too, from town to country and from lakeside to hillside. In crowds they thronged him. Some were drawn through curiosity; some to see if the stories they had heard were true; some to hear him preach, marvelling at the parables; some to witness, and even, at times, to be part of the miracles.

For most of them, however, there was no commitment. Early interest soon waned. They returned to being engrossed in family matters, in business, in daily chores and cares, unaffected by what they had seen and heard. Christ came to call them, as sinners, to repentance (Mt. 9:13). That call went unheeded. The invitation was ignored.

That same call to follow comes to us through the Word, the Scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation. How do we respond? With question upon question?—Why? Why should I? What is in it for me? How? What does it involve? What does it cost?

Such questions come, so often today, with little prompting, such is the attitude so prevalent abroad and by which we can become so easily influenced. Perhaps the same questions came readily to mind in Christ’s day too. Even Peter was troubled by the thought. He said to Jesus: “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (Mt. 19:27). To the disciples in particular Jesus said: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Lk. 22:29,30). His answer, of more general application to those who, having heard the call, have responded and are judged worthy, is: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt. 25:34). The reinstatement and completion of God’s Kingdom on earth will bring a standard of living and a life style which make all the present objects of our pleasure pale into insignificance; and, added to this, “the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom. 6:23).

But what does it cost? There is a saying much in use today that you get what you pay for’. In this there is a lot of truth. It should not therefore be unexpected that what a man has died to achieve would not be offered without cost to others. So, again, what does it cost? The Lord Jesus, ever aware of what comes naturally to mind, does not leave the question unanswered. He said: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:33).

Discipleship is often pictured in the Scriptures as a war. “Fight the good fight” (1 Tim. 6:12), “war a good warfare” (1 Tim. 1:18), wrote Paul to Timothy, for example. Such warfare has two facets, offence and defence, and any person contemplating discipleship must be prepared for both. So Christ chose parables to illustrate each one. The first involves a tower for defence, protection and safety; the other an army for the offensive onslaught: “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? . . . Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?” (Lk. 14:28,31). In the first a man is pictured deciding to build a tower for himself. In the second the man decides to fight his own battle.

In both, it seems, the most preliminary assessment of discipleship has not been properly completed. Firstly, this man did not realise that the tower had already been built for him. This was the subject of another of Christ’s parables: “There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country” (Mt. 21:33). Secondly, the other man did not appreciate that the battle was to be fought and won for him by another: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).

Safe passage through the battlefield of this present experience to the life beyond has cost far more than they could ever provide. Unaided they would never achieve it.

In the context of counting the cost of discipleship the parables show that the first accounting that must be done involves a realisation that reliance on self is folly and will prove inadequate. Self cannot provide. Self should not therefore be provided for. At the commencement of discipleship there must be a transfer of control, from a mind directed by a nature prone to the fulfilment of personal desires (self), to a mind directed by the spirit of one who said, “not my will, but Thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). Demands that the former mind makes must be suppressed, whatever they are; for self is impotent.

Christ’s true disciples realise they are incapable on their own. They require God. They require His Son. They must surrender all in acknowledgement of that fact. There is no one and nothing that must interfere with that surrender. “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26).

Does that mean, therefore, that the moment we are baptized we must leave home if our parents are not sympathetic to the decision we have taken? Must we sell all the possessions we have acquired and give the proceeds to charity? Must we give up our education, whatever stage we have reached? Must we resign from our employment, give up our career and become detached from all activities except for the bare minimum that provides for simple food, clothing and shelter?

The twelve disciples did. Paul, Timothy, Mark and Silas seem to have forsaken all worldly ties and become itinerant messengers of the gospel message, working only to provide for daily needs when other funds were not available. But as three thousand were baptized on the day of Pentecost, did three thousand jobs suddenly become vacant? Certainly many sold all and shared the proceeds but did they never do another day’s work? Did the Ethiopian eunuch immediately forsake horse and chariot and the position of great authority he had under Candace? No; the record says: “he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39).

The epistles contain many references to servants and masters. Servants are to be subject to their masters and not to leave their service, whether the master is good and gentle or harsh and overbearing (1 Pet. 2:18). Masters are not instructed to release their servants but to give them “that which is just and equal” (Col. 4:1). Onesimus was encouraged to return to Philemon. He was not commended for having forsaken his employ. And using the slave as an example Paul wrote that “Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him” (1 Cor. 7:20, NIV).

And yet Jesus says: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:33). Also to the ruler who came to him Jesus said: “sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor . . . and come, follow me” (Lk. 18:22). To another of his would-be disciples he made it plain that family commitments and duties must be put into perspective, for when one said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father”, Jesus replied, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead . . . but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Mt. 8:21,22; Lk. 9:60). To another who wished to go home and say goodbye he said: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:62). These seem to be such harsh and uncompromising words.

So what is expected of a disciple? To those who came to Jesus indicating their intention to follow him Jesus put a question or demanded an action which would put things into perspective, and which would test or help to establish priorities for prospective disciples. Some, by the use of one word amidst all they said to Jesus, failed the test. They said “suffer me first . . .”, and “let me first . . . “. That one word ‘first’ indicated their priorities. It is unlikely that Jesus was unsympathetic to such desires, but he was unsatisfied by the importance attached to them by these men.

Others, by their attitude to one thing amidst all their life of good works and apparently impeccable morals, failed the test. The one Jesus told to sell all and give to the poor went away sad, “for he had great possessions”. That particular response showed what would take precedence in his life. Jesus was impressed by the high ideals of this man, but he was disturbed by the importance he knew the man attached to his possessions.

Jesus had said: “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Mt. 6:33). No other desire must exceed this. No other commitment, duty or responsibility must supersede it.

Herein is the cost of discipleship to be assessed. Herein is to be found the answer to our question—Must disciples forsake all? Must they give up their job? Yes, if that will be a hindrance to the following of Jesus; but at the same time they need not automatically resign. It depends on what importance is attached to one’s employment. Must disciples sell or give away all their possessions? Yes, if by keeping them they will display pride in them, and if having them will encourage a further striving to have more and to glory in them; but not necessarily. Must disciples give up all their former associations? Yes, if those associations will impede a full commitment to the Lord. Must disciples give up all their interests and hobbies? Yes, if these prevent God-given time and talents being used for anything but service to their Master, their brethren and sisters, and their fellow men and women. Must they forego promotion and career progression? Yes, if that is to result in self-glorification, pride and self-importance. Must they forsake mother and father and their loved ones? Yes, if these would otherwise be the means of temptation and the forsaking of Christlike principles.

Must we give up all? It depends. Answering God’s call does not necessarily mean we have to, but we must be prepared to, with no further thought and certainly no misgivings. Each one of us must individually consider carefully our attitudes to all these aspects of life. The answers we each must give depend on the effect we perceive these aspects having on our attitude to commitment and dedication. If we prefer going to the cinema, for example, rather than to the fraternal gathering, where do our priorities lie? If work demands more time and effort than we spend on the things concerning the Kingdom of God have we got the balance right? If we prefer the social life associated with club or public house to the company of mature and sober-minded brethren and sisters then have we really got our perspectives right? If we spend our spare time—this question should surely go no further. How can one who has promised to follow Jesus and take him as his or her model for life ever claim to have spare time or ever contemplate wasting time?

The other way in which Jesus tried to impress upon the multitudes the cost of discipleship was with these words: “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:27). The bearing of the cross is not something we do by suspending it from the earlobe, or from a gold chain about our necks. It is not the enduring of physical ailment or of difficult circumstances, from which there appears to be no escape, with no complaining. This cross of which Jesus speaks is one on which self-will, self-esteem, self-gratification and self-reliance are crucified.

Often these traits are at their height just as the decision to follow Christ is being contemplated. It is at that time when minds begin to mature, when formal secular education comes to an end and when we begin to feel that we are someone, with abilities and ambitions, with something to achieve and something to offer the world. Attitudes developed at this time take a long time to change; habits formed are not easy to shake off. With ambitions clarified and determined it is important that the disciple’s priorities are well defined and their importance understood.

The cross is a symbol of suffering. In that respect it is not attractive to the young, healthy and able. Who wants to suffer when more pleasant alternatives exist? The example of Moses as “he was come to years” (Heb. 11:24) and had such decisions to make is recorded for our contemplation and imitation. As he reached the age of responsibility he chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (v. 25). As he matured, just when he was becoming aware of his ability and opportunity, he considered the cost, “accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” (v. 26, RV).

Why? Because “he had respect unto the recompence of the reward” (v. 26). He was able, or he chose, to see beyond the present. He was able to see that what he might gain in the short term would result in loss afterwards, and that to forego it then would bring reward later.

Under inspiration Paul drew on these ideas for his own benefit and that of others time and again in his writings. He carried the cross. He claimed he was “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), and in his letter to the Philippians he explained the same principle that Moses had applied: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things . . . that I may win Christ . . . that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Phil. 3:7,8,10,11).

There he was counting the cost, looking beyond the present to the future, and showing that nothing of this present order was too important not to forsake so that the future might bear real fruit.

What, for us, is the cost of discipleship? It depends who we are and what we are. It depends on our disposition and our attitude to this present life.

It is different for each one of us, and yet it is the same. The cost is anything and everything that assumes a more important position in our lives than seeking the Kingdom of God. It is anything and everything that we hold more dear than the love of God manifest in the gift of His Son. It is anything and everything that prevents a single-minded and full-time commitment to His ideals and principles. It is anything and everything motivated by the carnal mind and not directed by the spirit of Christ.

It may bring suffering, deprivation and reproach. It may mean our lifestyle is more subdued and less glamorous than it might otherwise be. Our standard of living may be lower than it could be. We may lose friends, and even the love of one we are particularly physically and emotionally drawn to. We may have to forego social standing and the respect of our peers. But all these are temporary facets of this present life that in God’s good time will pass away. “Truly, if our hope in Christ were limited to this life only we should, of all mankind, be the most to be pitied!” (1 Cor. 15:19, J. B. Phillips).

God has prepared some better thing for those who put their trust in Him. Some may be tempted to live life now and pay the price later. But what of us? Are we prepared to pay the price now so that we might live later?