Michael Card tells us more about what it means to live as followers of Christ:
“…it was not the kind of success that Peter and the others had envisioned. ‘From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things,’ writes Matthew. When Peter strongly objected, Jesus chastised him. ‘You do not have in mind the things of God,’ He said, ‘but the things of men.’ (Matthew 16:21, 23).
Then Jesus tenderly, firmly revealed what ‘the things of God’ would look like in their lives:
‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’ (Matthew 16:24-25
The simple fact is, if we take the name ‘Christian,’ we, too, must be recognized by our scars. The visible proofs of crucificxion, not our accomplishments, degrees, possessions, or wealth — will become our identifying marks.
That is the only kind of kingdom of which Jesus is King! And all the disciples who heard him that day would take up their own crosses, receive their own scars on this earth, and with the exception of one, die for love of the Lord.”
The idea that there is a ‘cost to discipleship’ traces its way back to the One who demonstrated the redemption of suffering. And yet, in our self-fulfilling era, neither ‘discipleship’ nor ‘cost’ are popular concepts. When have you ‘suffered’ for following Christ? How has Christ met you in that suffering?
Trackbacks/Pingbacks