The Cost of Discipleship

By Alexandra Copeland 

We come to the Lord Jesus Christ initially for very different reasons. Some of us begin our spiritual journeys with Him because someone close to us got saved, and we figured we’d try it too. Others of us were dealing with situations that brought us to the end of our wits, and out of desperation we cried out to Jesus. We promised him that if he would help us get out of our messes, we’d be better and do better. He heard our cries and looked beyond our faults to address our needs. However, it is that we came to Christ, we opened our hearts to him and he accepted our invitation. In Revelations 3:20(NLT), he said, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” He will accept what is good in us when we come to him, but we cannot expect to remain in the state in which he finds us.

The body of Christ—the church is his bride. He is the bridegroom, and one day he will return to gather us together. When we begin our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, some Christians experience a bit of a honeymoon stage. It is a season in our relationship where life feels brighter and lighter. God’s grace abounds exceedingly because we are not yet knowledgeable about His Word in many respects. Legally, there are grounds upon which the enemy cannot attack us because of our spiritual immaturity. This phase in our spiritual development doesn’t last forever; no matter how much you and I would like it to. This is why it is important for young and new Christians to be taught the Word as soon as possible, so they can become rooted in the gospel and therefore be strong enough to stand amid demonic attacks. God instructs us in Ephesians 6:11(NLT) to put on all of His armor, “so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”

Being a child of the Most Holy God and a spiritual sibling of Jesus Christ is the highest honor of eternity; nothing matches it! But we can’t get it twisted, it is not without challenges. God has equipped us with His Word, the example of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We desperately need His spiritual accoutrements to navigate through this earth experience, because it is often very rough and rocky terrain. Both the highs and lows can be extreme. God’s heart for each of His kids is that we remain steadfast and solid through it all. His goal for us is that we be committed believers, not in the least bit shallow.

Our Lord and Master never hid the truth from us. He was very clear in Luke 14:27(NLT) when he said, “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Friendships will be lost, family relationships severed, and there will be times of isolation and loneliness. Jesus Christ told the disciples in John 15:19 that the world will turn its back on us because we do not belong to it any longer. He chose us to come out of the world, so we will be the target of its hatred. It is not like this all the time, but there will be challenges that will make us remember the words of our beloved Savior’s warning.

Discipleship at its very core is about transformation. It’s not just about digesting as much of God’s Word as we possibly can, so that we can live this new life we have in Christ. It’s breaching the walls of our comfort zones in a way that is radical. This is what it takes, and Jesus never sugarcoated it. Many of us have made a drastic mistake in assuming we could drift along and still win the prize of the high call of Christ. Not so. Discipleship is the call of Christ to be fully and completely devoted to God. He takes it a step further in Luke 14:28(NLT) where he warns us, “Don’t begin until you count the cost.”

Jesus is making it clear to us that when it comes into conflict, discipleship takes precedence over comfort and self-interest. Our goal to become more like Christ and to share his gospel must be evident in our daily lives. Jesus Christ told us to count the cost because there’s a real danger in not understanding the realness of his call. He doesn’t want people thinking they are going to heaven when they are not. He wants us to know the truth of God’s Word, to stand on it and to stand for it; because discipleship is a life-changing business, and we’re in it. We are called to live out the instructions of Christ, when we do, he affirms in John 8:31 that we are his disciples indeed. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.