When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. –Luke 5:11
What does it “cost” to be a Christian disciple? Some might say, “Nothing! Discipleship is free!” While that is true on one level, it’s also true that discipleship is actually “expensive.” It costs us time for prayer, worship, and fellowship. It costs conversion of heart, discipline, the acceptance of suffering, and more. The Cost of Discipleship was written by German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It spells out what he thought it took to be a true follower of Jesus. He wrote, “…cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
In a way, discipleship can cost us everything. Read the last line from this Sunday’s Gospel passage Luke 5:1-11 again. The apostles left everything behind, becoming radically detached from their possessions in order to follow the Lord. Jesus Himself tells us the cost of discipleship: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
This is the pattern of discipleship: detachment and self-denial, accepting our sufferings and crosses, and following the path that Jesus leads us on. Here’s the good news: the cost of discipleship is worth it. It is the “great treasure” and “pearl of great price” that is worth selling all that we have to gain (Matthew 13:44-46). It means inheriting the abundant life that Jesus came to give us, both now on earth and forever in heaven (John 10:10).
Jesus, help me have an eternal perspective. When I feel that being Your disciple is costly, help me remember its true worth. Give me the courage to leave the little I have behind in order to gain so much more in return.