Dear Disciple,
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-60
What a privilege we have to be disciples of Jesus! His invitation to trust in Him and follow Him is sometimes presented by His messengers as if people are doing Jesus a great favor if they accept. Isn’t just the opposite? Isn’t He doing each and every person an unspeakably great favor by inviting them to follow Him? To belong to His community, have access to His nearness and presence, to have a share in His power, mission, and eternal inheritance as children of God – these are things we can never even imagine having apart from His kind offer to allow us to be His disciples.
There were those who understood that it was a great honor to be a disciple of so great a Rabbi, but they didn’t seem to understand what it would cost them. Jesus’ life of service to the Father and to His people meant more than power and fame. He was living a life of simplicity and sacrifice, hard work and service, discipline and humility. Every disciple then had to face the question of whether he or she was willing to share in the difficult parts of life with Jesus as well as the glorious parts. We have to ask the same question today. As Paul, our Master’s faithful servant, learned:
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17
In order to belong to Jesus’ community of disciples, we enter that community His way. We cannot come with our own terms like the man who agreed to follow Jesus if He could first bury his father. (By the way, it’s very possible this meant he wanted to remain with his aged father until he died – an indefinite period of time – and then bury him.) No, we come ready to agree to His terms, trusting that they will be fair and ultimately good for us. He is the invading King, after all, rescuing all who are willing from the tyranny of Satan, sin, and death. He has demands to which we should submit – not the other way around.
I invite you to rejoice in the mind-blowingly great blessing you have to be a disciple of Jesus today. I encourage you to rehearse the many promises given to all who follow Him as well as the many expectations He has of them. Bask in the generosity of your Teacher, Savior, and Lord, and, at the same time, meditate on how worthy He is of our undivided and unwavering allegiance and loyalty.
Privileged to follow Him with you,
Ryan