JESUS LEFT NO DOUBT ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW HIM TO THE NTH DEGREE
When we first “enrolled in His school” and became Disciples of Christ, we sang that little chorus, “If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.” Then we learned the J-O-Y acrostic to help us understand the meaning of discipleship: Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
From the beginning of our Christian Experience, thru the years of growing spiritually until we reached the stage of maturity, true love has been, is now, and forever should be the theme of our relationships – with God . . . Jesus . . . others!
If we claim to follow Jesus as Lord but “have not love”, we are “resounding gong or clanging cymbal”, and therefore we accomplish little or nothing of lasting value . . . of eternal significance . . . to glorify God and magnify Jesus! Therefore . . .
Of concern to Jesus is His followers’ degree of commitment – the extent to which allegiance to Him passes the “love” test. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Asked three times - until this veteran responded with his highest expression of love for Christ.
It is no secret that some folks follow Christ until the going gets rough . . . with mixed feelings . . . cautiously, depending on the way the winds of change are blowing . . . off and on - between rededications . . . all the way with a winning attitude that says, “no turning back”.
With such diversity of commitment obvious to Jesus, He told the Parable of the Great Banquet in which he lamented excuses given by those who decline to accept His invitation: “Come, for everything is now ready”.
Big mistake to reject God’s offer of salvation regardless of circumstances . . . to turn “thumbs down” when our Lord calls: “I tell you,” said Jesus, “not one of those who were invited (but declined) will get a taste of my banquet.” We see here two stark contrasts:
(+) A glorious opportunity! To accept our Lord’s invitation to follow Him is to experience the joy of feasting with our Lord in heavenly places!
(--) A harsh reality! To decline His invitation is to render a glorious experience null and void – both in “the here and now” and in “the sweet bye and bye”! So . . .
With so much at stake . . . eternity hanging in the balance . . . a cruel cross looming ahead, Jesus toughened His talk and employed shock therapy (a last resort) to dramatically induce HIs would-be followers to take Him seriously about the cost of discipleship! Luke 14:26-33 . . .
To follow Jesus at all is a matter of love . . . to varying degrees is a matter of love . . . to the Nth degree is a matter of love. “Do you love me more than these?” These what? These pleasures, persons or possessions that have kept you preoccupied too long! However, let us be clear about this matter of the discipline of Christian love:
True love never fails to think about . . . pray about . . . do what is best for those we love – our love expressed in varying degrees (eros . . . philia . . . agape) BUT in ways appropriate to our relationship with the persons we love – be they parents, spouse, family, friends, or foes.
To love Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last is the essence of what Jesus meant when He said to “crowds travelling with him”: “Whoever does not hate . . . does not bear . . . does not renounce . . . cannot be my disciple.” Strong language! Surely not socially acceptable if we take the word “hate” at face value as we often use it in English! The word used by Jesus as recorded by Luke is quite different from the word recorded by Matthew.
Matthew’s record of our Lord’s teaching about the cost of discipleship uses the word “love” to convey what Jesus said: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me . . .” Why this variation? Because the original Aramaic term used by Jesus means not “hate” as we use it in our common vernacular but “love less” - with reference to family and friends, or, “love more” - with reference to Jesus as Lord!
Matthew spoke of “loving more” while Luke spoke of “loving less”. Either way, what it means in practical terms is that, for example, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your love for the Lord compared to your love for all others? The higher your rating, the greater your love!
Certain occupations demand a higher level of commitment from those who sign up - the military . . . public service . . . medical professions . . . ministries . . . corporations such as restaurants that demand up front a signed pledge of allegiance to work on certain holidays, with the consequence of having to be away from families on those days.
Jesus illustrated two commitment principles associated with a decision to follow Him all the way by talking about a tower builder and a warrior king:
(1) Finishing what you start . . . (2) Forsaking pleasures, persons, possessions . . .
Are you willing up front to join a Cause that presents a much greater challenge than you ever expected it to be (as in the case of the tower builder) - and will require far greater sacrifice than you ever imagined (as in the case of the warrior king)? This is the way it is, folks:
To volunteer to serve as a Christian soldier presupposes a fight to the finish! On the Cross Jesus set the example as He cried out, “It is finished!” As Paul neared the finish line, he said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
To vow to love the Lord with all one’s heart, mind and soul is to commit to stay the course to the finish! When asked to repeat after the officiating minister, “and forsaking all others, keep you only unto each other as long as you both shall live” my bride and I knew what we were vowing – to forsake certain pleasures . . . persons . . . possessions which we had grown accustomed - to be true to the love we professed - to the finish!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor executed by Nazis toward the end of WWII, wrote in The Cost of Discipleship: “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first suffering for Christ is the call to abandon the attachments of this world - death of the old self which results from our encounter with Christ. When we surrender ourselves to Christ – we give over our lives to the finish.
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave their homes and work to follow him, or, it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery to go out into the world. But it is the same death every time – in the name of Jesus Christ, death of the old self.” (p.99) “Now”! (thundered Paul)
“Since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. Count yourselves dead to sin, but alive in Christ! Offer yourselves in service to God as one who has been brought from death to life!” Folks: We have been raised to new life to follow Christ all the way! Amen!
As we contemplate our Lord’s death to the finish, let us remember: For our sins He suffered, bled and died on the Cross, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. Love sent our Savior to die in our stead!
Jesus challenged His disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends ,You are my friends if you keep my commandments. A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, love one another. All men will know you are my disciples - if you love one another.”
Each time we observe the Lord’s Supper we celebrate our friendship with Jesus whose death on the Cross epitomized His own teaching . . . we authenticate our friendship with fellow disciples who love each other as Christ has loved us . . . we commemorate our Lord’s sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world.
Jesus instituted this ritual of remembrance on the night He was betrayed into the hands of His enemies. As He and His closest friends observed Passover, our Lord took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it and said: “This is my body, crucified for you. Eat this in remembrance of me.”
Then Jesus took the cup and said: “This is the new covenant in my blood shed for you. Drink this in remembrance of me.”
Prayer of thanks:
Thanks be to Thee, O God our Father, for your unspeakable gift of love! Thanks be to Thee, O Christ our Savior, for the sacrifice of your body, and the shedding of your blood for the remission of our sins! To God be the glory! Amen.
Passing of the elements:
As the wafers representing His body) are passed, you are invited to take and wait until everyone has been served, then we will eat together - “In remembrance of the sacrifice of His body instead of mine.”
As the cups representing His shed blood are passed, you are invited to take and wait until everyone has been served, then we will drink together – “In remembrance of His shed blood for the remission of my sins.”
Benediction:
As we continue life’s journey, may we never forget that, according to God’s plan and purpose we were brought into this world, by His grace we are redeemed, by His providential care we are sustained and, in keeping with our Lord’s promise, we shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Amen.
