At home on our kitchen wall we have a series of plates
depicting rural English scenes. There's quite a few of them. We hadn't meant to get quite so many, but it was one of those
offers where you see an advertisement and you think it would be nice to have one of those, and then the one became a set of
two, then the two became a set of six and the six became a set of twelve and you end up spending a lot more than you at first
intended.
Same thing can happen with book clubs or music clubs. You sign up thinking you have the best bargain in the world and
suddenly end up with stuff you hadn't really wanted. It can happen with committees to.
You say, in all innocence, "Yes, I'll serve on so-and-so," and it's only further down the road you realize just exactly
what you've got yourself into.
When the crowds were following Him, Jesus was uncompromising in His expectations of those who would be His disciples.
He told them to count the cost and to weigh up the implications before they signed up for discipleship. He told them
that commitment to Him was all, or it was nothing. That followers would have to restructure their whole life,
their priorities, their commitments, the things that they "seek ye first"-ed about, if they were to inherit the blessings
of the Kingdom of God. He was crystal clear that if they responded to the Call they would also need to be prepared to take
up the Cross.
An old gospel chorus my youth group used to sing put it plainly and decisively:
"If you will not bear a cross
You can't wear a Crown."
Have the rules changed? Does Jesus ask any less of disciples of the twenty first century?
The impression given by many, both servants of the church and lay-folk, and the concept given by some TV and radio programs,
is that buying into the gospel is much like buying a used car. They make it sound as easy as possible. "To ensure your salvation, call for a quotation, and make a donation."
It is like a throwback to the pre-Reformation days when you could purge yourself (and your relatives) from sin and
purgatory by paying the right price to the right priest.
A recent commentator observes, "Cultural accommodation of the Christian Faith has progressed to such an extent that many
see no tension between the teachings of Jesus and the common aspirations of middle-class America. On the contrary, a complete
change of priorities, values and pursuits is required. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that in Christ we become not ‘Nice
People’ but ‘New Creations’. When Jesus turned and saw the
crowd following Him, He was not impressed by His own success. He was not interested in the casual, easy acceptance the crowd
offered." (Abingdon's New Bible Commentary).
It is always a temptation for preachers to say what they think they want the people to hear and try and avoid saying anything
that may cause them offense, because, after all, a preacher's congregation are those who put the money in the collection plate
that keeps him or her comfortable. It's always a temptation to try and make the
message easier to swallow for some people because they might easier become followers.
It's always a temptation to play to the crowd rather than make disciples. It's a temptation for all disciples to please
people rather than please God.
Please pray for your pastors, that though tempted, your pastors will not go down that road. Please pray for us that we
will do things you don't agree with and things that cause you to question your own beliefs, because if all we are doing is
making you feel good about yourself, then we are doing you a grave disservice.
Please pray for us that we hold before your understanding not simply the call of Jesus that is beckoning you to be
His follower, but also hold before you the Cross of Jesus that He is calling you to carry.
The cross has to be central to our life if we are in any true sense of the word going to be Christian. The fact is that
our Churches, Preachers, and Christian friends are going to let us down sometimes. But
the One who died upon that cross, whose name is Jesus, He is not going to let us down. Even the greatest friend who loves
us dearly cannot go to Calvary to die for our sins, but Jesus has done that.
There are always religious folk that we can point the finger at and say, “phoneys, do-gooders, know-it-alls, holier
than thou's, religious cranks, Bible freaks, hypocrites.” You can not point the finger at Jesus Christ and make such
accusations. His love is truth and His life is life, life that burnt with such
intensity that death, Hell and the Devil could not extinguish it. His way is
the ‘way’ He is calling you to follow. His way is the way of the cross.
You may say to me, "But, you don't know what I'm going through? You don't
know the struggles I have. You don't know what I have to put up with!" You know
what? You are absolutely right. I don’t know. But Jesus Christ knows exactly what you are going through, exactly how
you are trying to deal with things, exactly how you are feeling about things right now, and He is the one who uncompromisingly
calls us to stand out of the crowd and make our stand, not for our church or for our preacher or our Christian friends, but
for Him.
How uncompromising is that stand? Listen again to verse 26: "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father
and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Let's clear away one stumbling block that's due to translation here. Jesus is not preaching about any anti-family
statements or justifying hatred. He is speaking in a manner of traditional rabbinical
teaching, sometimes called "Semitic hyperbole," that greatly exaggerates a contrast so that the meaning of a phrase or a concept
is seen more clearly. The word used for hatred, in Greek mijes (miseô),
does not imply anger or hostility.
What Jesus seems to me to be saying is that our response to the call of discipleship has to take precedence over and above
even the most sacred of human relationships, even those of family and over
the priorities we feel make our lives what they are...that there is no higher obligation in life than commitment to Him and
being His disciple...that the love we are to have for Him and the things of God's Kingdom is of such a quality that it seems
to make our love for those closest to us seem like hatred by comparison
What are the things that we give our time to? The things that excite us? The things that make up our life? Maybe it is
our family. Or maybe it's our job. Or maybe it's our home. Or maybe it's hanging out with our friends. Or maybe it's football.
Or maybe it's the golf course. Or maybe it's having a quiet Sunday morning snoozing in bed. There is nothing wrong with any
of those things.
But, hear Jesus and hear Him loud and clear. "Whoever comes to me and does not love me more than these things, cannot be my disciple." Cannot...Will not…Shall not! They
may go through the motions but in reality be a fraud. God calls us to have a love for His Son that, by comparison to our love
of all other things, seems like hatred.
Let's move on to verse 27. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." The
cross spoken of here is not that of trying family relationships or chronic illness, although those things are incredibly hard
to carry and their burden should not be minimized. The cross spoken of here is those things that come our way because we make
a stand for Jesus.
For each of us that means something different. For some a redirection of time and energy is required, for others a change
in personal relationships, a change in vocation, or a commitment of financial resources; but for each the call to discipleship
is all consuming. No partial commitments are accepted.
Sadly we live in a world where many, faced with this challenge, will ask, "What's in it for me?" What's in it for us?
What have we to gain by taking up a cross, by loving Jesus more than anything else?
By making the decision to be disciples?
Such a stupid, thoughtless, question reveals the true emptiness of our souls, reveals how much we have been swallowed
by the "Give as little as you can, take as much as you are able" society in which we live.
Think what Christ has done for us. Think on how He gave His life for our
salvation, for our healing and wholeness. Think on all He said, all that He did. Think how His love has changed the world
and so many of the freedoms we enjoy today have come about through those who sought to hold up His light in the darkness.
Reflect on those who died so that we could have a Bible (which many days people don't even bother to open). Reflect on those who gave all so we can gain all. Look at how many hospitals and educational establishments
and forms of government and structures of law bear the marks of His teaching.
Instead of asking "What's in it for me?" maybe we should be asking "What heritage are we passing on to our grandchildren's
children?" How should we live in the light of the grace God has freely bestowed upon us? What are we doing to reflect the
love of Him who first loved us?
It was Isaac Watts who penned these words;
When I survey the wondrous Cross
On which the Prince of Glory Died
My richest gain, I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far to small
Love so amazing, so Divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
The Call and the Cross.
Both are essential for genuine discipleship.
May God enable us to hear clearly the Call to follow Jesus Christ.
May God enable us through the Holy Spirit,
to daily take up our cross
and go wherever this awesome discipleship journey may lead!
On this Rally Day I invite you to rally around the message of the Cross.
I invite you in your hearts to echo those words:
“Love so amazing, so Divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
