photo credit: christopher chan (creative commons)
Last night my small group started the Radical Bible Study. If you’ve been following my blog lately, you’ll know how much the book has changed my perspective on how I want to be as a Christian.
David Platt has challenged me according to God’s Word to abandon myself.
Reading the book has literally caused me to put my life up for sale.
Tonight we discussed the cost of following Christ. Guess what? It’s not cheap! It costs us everything. But are we really willing to give up everything? Am I willing to do that?
According to Luke 14:25-33 Jesus comes before anyone. We have to carry the cross daily.
WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING!
Does that mean go and sell everything you have today, be poor, and wait for God to tell you what to do? I don’t believe so. God blesses others who bless others. Having money and possessions is not a bad thing. But… loving them more than Christ will get us into trouble.
What does following Christ mean? Here are four explanations based on Luke 14.
- Following Christ means being devoted to Him above anyone else (Luke 14:25-26)
- Following Christ means continually sacrificing who we were for who He is (Luke 14:27)
- Following Christ requires a cost that should be considered before we commit (Luke 14:28-32)
- Following Christ requires radical abandonment of everything we previously sought in life for the freedom to fully pursue Him and His glory (Luke 14:33)
I’ll close with this:
Most of us would rather imagine all the blessings we’ll receive from following Christ than count the cost of what it will take to be His disciple. The reality is we have to give up everything, including ourselves.
Do you believe He is worth it? Leave a comment below…