Monday, December 2, 2013

Not a fan?


At times the Lord asks me to do things that seem a bit odd to those around me.  I have been in a season of one of those times.  I was reading in the gospel of Mark and I came to chapter 8 verse 34: “If any of you wants to become My disciple he must turn from his selfish way, take up his cross, and follow Me.”  I realize Jesus spoke of that cross in a metaphorical way, but on that particular day He asked me to take it literally for a season.  Right now I am wearing a 12inch wooden cross around my waist.  Yes, this  gets me some odd looks and it has pushed me out of my comfort zone on more than one occasion.  The cross is not the point of today’s blog (perhaps another time).  Today I want to bring up this question:

“If following Jesus cost you everything, would it still be worth it?”

After I started wearing my cross I had about five people ask me if I had read the book, “Not a fan” by Kyle Idleman.  I had not but I felt the constant question might be an indication that I should read it.  So the above question comes out of the “Not a fan” book.  I read the question and thought about my honest answer.  I wanted to take a real assessment and not give an “everyone in church is standing, so I will too” answer.  I really felt at first that my answer was yes.  . .  If all of the sudden I lost my job, and then my house due to my job, and then my husband to cancer, and my children in accidents. . . .  Yes, I would still be a follower of Jesus because He would be all I had to turn to.  My Rock; My Tower, My Comfort; etc.  Then I realized the question was not “If you lost everything would you still serve God”.  The question again is. . .

“If following Jesus cost you everything, would it still be worth it?”

Meaning if following Jesus was the reason you lost your job, your home, your spouse, your children, would it still be worth it?  If it was against the law in the US to hire anyone who was a believer in Jesus Christ and I lost my job; would it be worth following Him?  I think I am still able to say, yes!  If my house was foreclosed on due to the job loss that was due to following Christ, would it be worth it?  I think I am still able to say, Yes!  BUT. . .what if losing my husband was the cost of following Jesus?  What if my husband was like Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who has been imprisoned in Iran 429 days for his resolve to follow Jesus at all cost.  What if he lost his life in this process?  Would I still feel it was worth it to follow Jesus?  What if my children like Rachel Scott of Columbine High School were shot and killed at school because they refused to deny their faith in Jesus?  Would it still be worth following Him?  I am now homeless, have lost the love of my life and all of my children for the sake of His Name. . .

“If following Jesus cost me everything, would it still be worth it?”

If that is not hard enough let’s look at Luke 14:26- "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Notice it doesn’t say “he will be a ‘B’ disciple instead of and ‘A’ disciple”. . .it says “he CANNOT be My disciple”.   Now hate in the verse actually translates: not to choose; or to hate in comparison to; but still He is saying if you do not choose Me over all others your CANNOT be My disciple.  I am going to end this blog on an abrupt note with the feeling of a good slap in the face or wake up call. . .because that is how the question left me feeling as I assessed my answer. . . to be honest. . .I am still in process of trying to give Him my yes. . .what about you?

“If following Jesus cost you everything, would it still be worth it?”