worth it all.

have you ever thought about the cost of following Christ? and, after that do you think it is worth it?

these were some of the questions we discussed at Face2Face tonight at church. it is something that i havent thought about in a very long time.

but let's think about it. the cost of following Jesus was tough, and for the most part was unrealistic for most people. who would want to deny their family? (Luke 14:26) or risk not having the comforts of their basic needs? (Matthew 8:19-20) or forfeit all their possessions? (John 18:14-25) or love the people you want to hate? (Matthew 5:43-44) or carry an item of pain, suffering, and death? (Matthew 16:24)

this all seems foolish doesnt it? but this IS what Christ calls us to as believers of the Gospel. not just part of the time, or when we want to do them. and if we make that mistake Jesus tells us that we dont deserve to be his disciples. the Eleven disciples (excluding Judas Iscariot) understood this full well. Jesus didnt have to convince these people to follow Him. He simply told them to "Follow me" and they did. they dropped the things they were doing, left their families behind, forfeited the comfort of their homes, and followed Him. and to even look at this deeper, these were fishermen and tax collectors; men of low occupational standard, as well as, respectable age (some were young-possibly 17-25). and as time went on, looking in John 6, disciples from all over joined Jesus, or wanted to, but when Jesus told them the cost of following Him, they turned and went back to what the were comfortable with. then something very unique happened in scripture:

"From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. Therefor Jesus said to the Twelve, 'You don't want to go away too, do you?' Simon Peter answered, 'Lord who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God!" John 6:66-69 (HCSB)

notice what Peter said. he says that they would have nothing to go back to. and they WANTED to continue following Him. wow. thats devotion. thats dedication. thats love. they trusted that Christ was worth sacrificing everything to follow, and they didnt want to go back to their "normal" way of life. they understood the cost of following Christ. and it is really shown after Christ's ascension when most of them take a martyr's death. they gave up their lives to follow Christ. literally. and that is a beautiful picture of what it means to be His disciple. it's crazy, i know, but i believe it's worth it.

one final thought. Francis Chan in his book, Forgotten God, states:

"Nowhere in scripture do I see “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate. Yet when I look at our churches this is exactly what I see: a lot of people who have added Jesus to their lives. People who have in a sense asked Him to join them on their life journey and follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us, He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life."

with that said, is it worth it to you?

________________________________________

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I need
I will say to You

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this

-Worth It All (Rita Springer)