The cost of following Christ

Matthew 10:38-39
38anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Let's be straight about it - being a disciple of Christ is not the most fashionable thing around. If we want to be a disciple of Christ and at the same time want to be held in respect by the world, we will soon find that we cannot have both.

Jesus himself made that clear in no uncertain terms. There is a price to pay in following Christ as all the Gospels state. Let's look at what John writes:

John 12:24-25
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life

There is a dying to the world and the self that happens first. A dead man is not bothered by the praise of man. A man who is dead to the world ceases to look at his stay on planet earth as his "life". He is looking for a better life in eternity and knows that he is a pilgrim here.

Hence there is choice to make for every person who wants to follow Christ. Do we want to enjoy the passing pleasures of this world or are we determined to pay the price of living for Christ?

Matt 10:25 says,
25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!

Friend, the Bible is clear that "all who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution". If we have not come there yet, it is because we have diluted the message to the point that it is no different from what the world has to offer. That is what the Apostle meant when he wrote "the offence of the Cross has been removed"

Let's come back to the Biblical standards of following Christ. There is a cost and greater the sacrifice, greater are the rewards in eternity. As the songwriter writes, "This world is not my home, I am just passing through"

Let's keep that perspective every day of our life.

God Bless!