Why Following Jesus Costs Everything (And Is Worth It)
What if the thing you're holding onto most tightly is actually the thing holding you back? What if the key to gaining everything you've ever wanted is to give up control of everything you have? That sounds like a paradox or maybe even a bad deal. But that's exactly what Jesus offers us, and it's the most important invitation any of us will ever receive.
What Does It Really Mean to Be a Student of Jesus?
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives his followers their mission before he ascends into heaven: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
That mission of making disciples, teaching people everywhere to obey everything Jesus has taught, is the same mission he has for us today. But it comes with a challenge: if we're going to teach other people to live in obedience to Jesus and his teachings, we're going to have to be doing it ourselves first.
Becoming Who Jesus Would Be If He Were You
Dallas Willard puts it this way: "Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you."
That means learning to live your life so closely in line with the teachings and example of Jesus that it's as if Jesus is living your life in your place. You remember the "What Would Jesus Do?" craze in the late 90s, the little bracelet you'd wear so when you were tempted, you could look down and make a better choice? Discipleship takes that short little question and puts it deep in our souls, to the point where we don't even have to think about what Jesus would do. It just becomes our natural response.
Willard also gives us the definition of what a disciple actually is: "A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do."
The most important thing. Not one of the most important things. The most important thing.
That's a hard word. We have other important things too: family, friends, jobs, dreams. But here's the truth: if following Jesus is an important thing but not the most important thing, those other important things are going to win out most of the time. If our loyalties are divided, we're going to have a hard time choosing to do what Jesus would do.
The good news is, Jesus doesn't call you to put him first because he doesn't care about all those other things. He calls you to put him first so he can teach you his way to handle all of them.
That brings us to the big idea: If you want to learn to be like Jesus, you have to trust him to teach you.
Trusting Jesus Comes with a Cost and a Calling
Early in his ministry, Jesus quickly became popular. He taught with authority, healed the sick, fed thousands. People flocked to him but a lot of them were following for the wrong reasons. They were chasing the next miracle or the next meal.
So one day, Jesus turned to the crowds and laid out in very stark terms what it really means to follow him. In Luke 14:25-33, he says: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even their own life — such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
Jesus is brutally honest. Following him comes with a cost. In fact, if we're really going to follow Jesus, it's going to cost us everything. He's not looking for fair-weather followers who are enthusiastic when the vibes are immaculate and the miracles are flowing, then fall away when the good times come to an end.
There may be times when being faithful to Jesus puts us at odds with our father and mother, our spouse and children, our brothers and sisters, our bosses and coworkers. And when that happens, we'll have to decide: Who wins out? Is Jesus and his way the most important thing in our lives or just one of them?
Trusting Jesus Starts with Surrender
In Mark 8:34-37, Jesus calls the crowd to him, both the curious onlookers and his committed disciples, and says: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"
Step one is to deny yourself. This is the step of surrender. It's when you say, "Jesus, my way isn't working. Your way is better. I give up my way. Teach me your way." Author and pastor John Ortberg sums it up: "I can't. Jesus can. I think I'll let him."
Think about the king in Jesus' story from Luke 14, facing an army twice the size of his own. When he knows he cannot resist, his only option is to surrender. Each one of us has our own kingdom, our domain of responsibility and control, which is our life. Jesus comes to us and wants to make it part of his kingdom. Not as a hostile takeover, this is Jesus standing at the door and knocking. He does it because he loves us and knows what's best for us.
And once you surrender, Jesus calls you to take up your cross. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." To take up your cross is to carry with you each day the means by which your old life comes to an end and your new life begins. A cross might look like the opposite of victory, but dying to ourselves is the only way to find true life.
Trusting Jesus Leads to Life
In Matthew 19:16-30, a wealthy young man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to get eternal life. He's kept all the commandments. He's doing everything right on the outside. But Jesus could see a problem no one else could see that this man was trusting in himself, his obedience, and his wealth rather than trusting God. His possessions actually possessed him.
Jesus tells him: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The young man went away sad, because he had great wealth and couldn't bring himself to do it.
This young man's sad story shows us that it's actually possible to have obedience without trust but it's impossible to have trust without obedience.
Then Peter speaks up: "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" And Jesus turns from the great cost of following him to the great reward. He promises that everyone who trusts him enough to make him the single most important thing in their life will receive a hundred times as much in God's Kingdom.
Putting It Into Practice
There is no denying that trusting Jesus enough to obey him in everything is not easy. It's a way of life we will spend a lifetime learning. But there is also no denying that when we do it, even imperfectly, we will gain far more than we ever give up.
The good news is that Jesus doesn't ask us to do it all at once. We can start with one step of faith, one step of trust and obedience, and as we follow him, he will show us every next step we need to take.
Faith = Trust + Obedience. Faith is not just believing the right things. It's a living, active relationship that calls for our trust and obedience in every moment of every day. As the old hymn says, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."
So here's the question only you can answer:
Jesus, today I surrender my ________ to you. Help me to trust you with it. Teach me to use it for your glory.
Maybe you've heard Jesus telling you what that next step is. Maybe you need to spend some time in prayer and ask him, "What's holding me back from following you with my whole heart?"
On the other side of surrender is a reward far greater than anything we may give up. That's a promise worth trusting.
Reflection
Take a few quiet minutes with these questions.
On a practical, day-to-day level, what does your faith actually look like right now? Is it more of a belief you hold, or a living trust you act on?
The rich young man in Matthew 19 did everything right on the outside, but something was holding him back on the inside. Is there something in your life, a relationship, a resource, a dream, a fear, that you're holding onto so tightly it's actually holding you back from following Jesus with your whole heart?
Jesus said that following him comes with a real cost, relationally, materially, personally. Have you ever experienced a moment when faithfulness to Jesus cost you something? What did that reveal about where your trust really was?
What area of your life is hardest for you to let Jesus lead? Why do you think that is?
Application
Here's your challenge for today:
Jesus, today I surrender my ________ to you. Write down what belongs in that blank. Then take one concrete, obedient action that reflects your surrender of it to Jesus. It doesn't have to be dramatic. It just has to be real. A conversation you've been avoiding. A habit you need to lay down. A decision you've been stalling on because you're not sure you trust Jesus enough to follow through.
Remember: Jesus doesn't ask you to do it all at once. He just asks for the next step. One step of trust. One step of obedience. That's how a lifetime of discipleship is built.
Prayer
Loving God, I confess that too often I treat following Jesus like one item on a long list of important things, rather than the most important thing in my life. I hold on to my own plans, my own comfort, and my own sense of control and I call it wisdom, when really it's just fear. I want to be honest with you. I want to be the kind of student who doesn't just know what Jesus would do, but who naturally does it because I've spent enough time with him that his way has become my way. So I come to you right now and I surrender. Not perfectly. Not all at once. But genuinely. Thank you that on the other side of surrender is not loss, but life. In Jesus' name, Amen
