TOPIC: Obedience / Discipleship

All or nothing. That doesn't sound much like a Christian phrase, but it expresses accurately a Bible truth.

What Does God Say?

What did Jesus expect His followers to be willing to do? Listen to what He told His disciples:

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it'" (Matthew 16:24-25).

And we see an example of this when Jesus encounters the man who was to write the Gospel of Matthew:

"Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector's booth. 'Follow me and be my disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him (Luke 5:27-28, NLT). [editor's note: Matthew was Levi's Greek name.]

Did Jesus really expect folks to give up all to follow Him? Evidently, Matthew thought He meant it.

But perhaps Jesus' message of leaving all and following Him was intended for the apostles and not for us average sinners. Let's see what the Scripture has to say about that:

"A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 'If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?

"So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own" (Luke 14:25-28, 33, NLT).

1. What were the qualifications for becoming Christ-followers? What was Jesus' challenge to the crowds?

2. Listening to Jesus' words, what would you say He expected from His followers as far as a commitment?

3. Why do you think Jesus didn't "soft sell" the commitment needed to follow Him; and, then, once people became followers, ease them into a deeper commitment?

My Thoughts

Are you committed to giving 100 percent of yourself to Jesus? That's the basis for becoming a Christian, giving Him all of your life. And that's the basis for following Him--to have a heart that only has room for one priority--living for Jesus.

My Part

What makes it possible to give 100 percent to Jesus? Love. The greater our love, the more willing we are to commit all of ourselves. Where does love like that come from?

"We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19, KJV).

Love Jesus with all of your heart, and you will follow Him all of your life with all that you are.