THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

Scriptures

* Luke 9: 57-62 7

For starters

One of the hardest things to understand and accept in Christianity is the smallness and the insignificance of the matters of the world. Tomorrow and next week and 20 years from now are confidently assumed to be our possession. Heaven is believed in, reached for, and lived for, but it is so far and distant. The car breaking down, the crying baby, the kids soccer game, the over due Visa card, the unruly son, the clogged plumbing, the failing job, the dating scene, these things are the here and now. How can we put God, Jesus, heaven, eternity, and evangelism first, when they don't materialize themselves like our families, jobs, and homes.

So what's the story?

As Jesus was walking along a road (Luke 9: 57) a teacher of the law (Matthew 8:19) came and said to him "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him saying "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another man came to Jesus and proclaimed "I will follow you as soon as I bury my father". Jesus instructed him to follow him immediately and let the dead bury the dead. A final man came to Jesus and asked if he could go home and say "good-bye" to his family before leaving everything and following Him. Jesus answered "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

The responses Jesus gave seem to reflect everyday trials that a Christian who is living for God will have to go through. Sometimes the Christian may find himself without a place to lay his head (or at least feel like a stranger in a totally foreign land). There may also be occasions when a Christian must oppose or turn his back on his family in order to please God. Especially so, if those to whom he is related are unbelievers and do not understand his personal convictions. Jesus did not sugar coat even the toughest challenges. This challenge was intended to sift a man's heart, to strengthen his commitment, and to make one into a Christian that truly does put God first and never looks back.

Questions of content

* What did Jesus say to the first person who wanted to follow Him?
* What does the word disciple mean?
* Does Jesus "sugar coat" the challenges of Christianity?

Thinking it over

* Is there really something that is worth this sort of extreme commitment? Or is this "hyperbole" that we shouldn't take too literally? Or is Jesus just a cultish radical? How seriously should we take this? Why does the world today usually reject this idea? (hint: consider the world's loose idea of truth)
* Why would Jesus make sure someone understood what they were undertaking before they got involved?
* If a person became a Christian and fell away, would it be better for him if he had never tried? (2 Peter 2: 21)
* What are some guidelines that we should follow when living our lives to make sure that we put God first. Can we go too far? Does God call all of us to give up all that we own and evangelize the world with every minute of our time here on earth?
* What does it mean to let the dead bury the dead?
* Share amongst each other (if you will) any stories that you might have of examples of having to sacrifice something for Christ. Has it been worth it?