The Gospel is essentially life or death. As Christians, we must be dead to sin, and alive to God (Romans 6:11). We must live out the Gospel in our life, evangelizing with our heart and actions along with our words, to spread the Good News to everyone we come in contact with. Right now, I am studying Matthew, and throughout the Ministry of Jesus, a common trend I see is the "Cost of Discipleship". The cost to follow Jesus is of great worldly value. To be more specific, we must be willing to give up everything we have to follow Jesus.
In Matthew 19 (ESV), a man of great wealth asked the question, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. This man specifically was a man of financial wealth, but Jesus also talks of a wealth in form of relationships. Family or Friends, the relationships you are currently in are important. But are they more important than following Jesus? If you were to make a list of the most important things in your life, in order, would God be on top of your list? Think hard about this, pray about it, and search your heart to truly find the right answer to this question. I am going to be talking and quoting scripture about Family, but this could be for ANYTHING other than God! I love my family, so much. I'm really close to my Dad especially, but I really love them all. I was confused when I first heard Jesus said that we must hate our family. I thought we were supposed to love and honor them? I quickly learned (to my personal relief, sorta) that the word "hate" was used in a different manner then than how it is now. When Jesus said hate, He meant we must be willing to leave them (and anything else) behind to follow Him. That nothing must be more important, or even close to, following Jesus. In that light, we must also have a family like bond with fellow believers, whether family or not. Jesus knew this, as we see in Matthew 12. 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” That seemed kinda harsh. I couldn't have imagined what that must have felt like for Mary or one of His brothers. I'm sure it would have been tense situation for their point of view. Jesus never said that he didn't love them, but that His family was those who do the Will of God. He put His followers, closer than his earthly family, because his followers were closer to The Father. He's showing that under God on that list, we should do the same, and be closer to those that are Godly compared to Ungodly. If that means spending less time with your family and spending more time with your more Godly friends, so be it. In the end, they will influence you positively and encourage you to become stronger in your faith on a daily basis, something you are going to find that doesn't happen with Ungodly people. I am not (nor is Jesus) saying you shouldn't interact with Non-Christians, you should, but always be aware of who influences you and filter them if you need to, that way you can be the best follower of Christ you can. The Gospel is what should be the core of the Christian's heart and life. Nothing else and nothing less. "The Cost of Discipleship", The costs of following Jesus, may seem great, but greater is the reward.
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AuthorLuke Fuson Archives
September 2016
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