The Cost of Discipleship 4

 God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for sin and offer us forgiveness…for a purpose. The reason is that sinning destroys our relationship with God. By sinning we choose another path rather than place our faith in God as a trailblazer through life. By sinning, we choose to go our own way and break our relationship with God…to our own destruction. Forgiving sins was the penultimate reason for Jesus’ mission on earth; repairing relationships with God is the ultimate reason.

 Thus, it is no surprise that once we have been freed from sin, from our entanglements, and from our pending destruction, what opens up before us is a life with God. We are not free to go our own way and call our own shots. We know where that leads. 

 What is God’s purpose? We are now free to accept the offer God makes to be a reliable help and guide in life. What does that mean? Does it mean that God has laid out a complete map of our journey, so we know what to expect. No; the temptation would be too great to take our eyes off Jesus and try to do it our way. That was the Devil’s temptation for Jesus; “There is another way to accomplish this, you know.” Jesus replied, “That is not true to God’s word.” 

 Do we know what lies ahead? Not really. We step out on faith, and we walk by faith with our eyes on the Master Mentor. When he moves, we move. When he stops, we stop. When he makes a turn, we follow where he goes. It takes a while to get the hang of it.

 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11: 1).

 Is faith a complete package; that is, you either have it or you don’t? Not really. Listen to how Jesus talked about faith. 

 “Jesus said to him (the father of an epileptic child), ‘If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes’. Immediately the father cried out, ‘I believe, help my unbelief’” (Mark 9: 23-24). 

 Jesus often told people that their healing would be according to their faith. 

 “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith” (Matthew 8:13; see also Matthew 9: 22 and 29).

 Jesus made the distinction between little faith and great faith.

 “Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish” (Matthew 15: 28).

 “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 31, see also Matthew 16: 8). 

 It is the disciples, most often, whom Jesus reprimands for having little faith, yet even a little faith can get things done.

 Jesus said: You could not cast out that demon… “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say this to a mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17: 20). 

 These disciples who had “little faith” kept walking with Jesus, at least 11 out of the 12 did, and they grew in faith as they went. They accomplished great things as recorded in the Book of Acts of the Apostles and, according to tradition, all but John died a martyr’s death. They grew and matured as they let their relationship with God develop through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 Discipleship is a relationship with a person, and that person is God’s designated representative on earth: Jesus Christ. We don’t choose a path, we choose a person. We don’t choose a plan, we choose a leader. We don’t choose pleasure or pain, we choose a companion to share it all.