Xtreme

The Cost of Following Jesus
Luke 9:57-62

As my eyes followed the words on thin, wrinkled pages, I distantly read through the endings of Luke 9. Luke unfolds the interaction between Jesus and the people who had wanted to become devoted disciples of his. Jesus answers with what appears to be a somewhat harsh response. I expected our loving Jesus to reply with words that I would have liked to hear, putting myself in the place of that man on the road approaching Jesus. But again, he surprises me with his reaction, difficult for my flesh. When Jesus says “Follow me,” one man insists that he may go bury his father first and the other pleads to say good-bye to his family before he can follow Jesus. Jesus’ blunt reply seems a bit startling. To each of them, he explains that he has no room for such things for those who want to follow him. With the abrupt ending of the chapter, I was somewhat puzzled and left to wonder why Jesus has acted the way he did. Don’t things like family matter? Families are sometimes the most important things in our lives.
Jesus knew this.
He was carefully and honestly explaining that nothing, not even what you hold closest to your heart, can get in the way of you and Jesus. In chapter 14, he elaborates more about the cost of becoming his disciple.

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

How often do we let the world tell us what is most important to us? Jesus was not saying that you have to hate everyone after you become his follower. I realized that instead he was helping his listeners really recognize and understand how much you have to give, how much you can’t hold back, and how you can never look back when keeping your eyes on Jesus. When Jesus describes the “cost” of becoming his follower, he sounds so extreme, so intense. The thing is, Jesus sounded this way on purpose. He didn’t want any half-hearted or even “99% hearted” followers. He wants everything. He wants all of you. He might have sounded extreme but really, that’s what he asks for us to be. Jesus didn’t want people get the wrong idea of what it means to follow him. He showed his love by being so plain, so blatant with his words to make sure that those people would know what they giving themselves to. Like with those people, he doesn’t bargain about how much you are willing to give, he doesn’t agree to be sought after only when you have time. He asks us to drop everything…and follow. How much does it cost? It costs us everything.

-Mae Leah