Excerpt Taken From Fatherly Talk
Dearly Beloved
The vast majority of Christians today are believers or converts and not disciples. Yet the command of our Lord Jesus Christ was not to make converts but rather to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). A convert or believer looks forward to receive from our Lord Jesus Christ but a disciple looks forward to give and truly follow in the footsteps of Christ. Of course, we all do know that no one can live the Christ-life except as Christ lives within us (Galatians 2:20) but the key is that 'Christ DOES live through us." Many who called themselves Christians are not interested in Christ living in them or being like Christ rather all they want is the benefits of Christianity.
When people wanted to follow after Christ saying that he would follow him wherever He goes, Jesus immediately pointed to the cost of following Him (Luke 9:57-62).To one Jesus reminded that He the Son of man had nowhere to lay His head upon, to another Jesus said that He is to let the dead bury the dead and to yet another Jesus said that no one, having put his hand upon the plow looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said that to be a disciple one must neither just look at the benefits of following Him, nor be involved in activities of the spiritually dead, nor be looking back and longing after the things of this life or the world. Indeed, those who love the world or the things of the world do not have the love of the Father in their lives (1 John 2:15-16). Indeed, when Jesus spoke of discipleship, He expects that those who chose to follow Him would have love for Him so great that in comparison of their love for Christ to those of their father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister, and their own life, too, it would be equivalent to hate! (Luke 14:26). For those who can't raise their love for Jesus to that level, Jesus considers that they cannot be His disciples.
To Jesus a disciple is one who can bear the cross (Luke 14:27). What is it to bear one's cross? Jesus illustrated it with the cost of discipleship as of a builder who counts the cost and as king who counts the cost. There is a cost of discipleship. The cost of discipleship is the cross - which represents the placing of our whole spirit, soul and body as a sacrifice to God and Jesus. The cross was Jesus giving His life for us; our personal cross is we giving our lives to God and to others. At the heart of discipleship is the love of God. Without the love of God, we cannot be disciples. God so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16). Jesus so loved us that He gave Himself to us (Romans 5:5-8). As disciples we continue in the same flow of God's love and love others the same way Jesus loved (John 13:34-35). A true disciple of Christ is a disciple of God's and Christ's love.