Luke 14:25-27 says, “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.’”

When Jesus said “follow me” it was not just an invitation into his life, but also to follow him in his death - he said we must daily take up our cross and deny ourselves. In fact, this self-sacrificial mindset was so integral to his way of living that Jesus cautioned any potential disciple to first carefully count the sacrificial costs before they chose to follow him. There is no version of discipleship that is without sacrifices! Denying oneself always feels like death but leads to a resurrection life full of hope and power. It is through our self-denial, cultural rejection, suffering and sacrifice that we identify with Christ in his sufferings and await the full hope of Christ’s return.

When we count the cost, we can expect to experience resurrection life.

As we live sacrificially, we go from:

• Living for ourselves to gladly dying to self for the sake of God and others
• Hoarding our resources to giving freely of our time, talent and treasure
• Expecting God to give us what we want to trusting Him even if it hurts or doesn’t make sense

If your next step is to embrace the costliness of discipleship, you might consider:

• Joining a serving team
• Going on a mission trip
• Starting or continuing your generosity journey
• Embracing a current season of suffering and inviting the Lord into it

Additional Resources:

• The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer