The Cost of Discipleship

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:57–62
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The Cost of Discipleship
We all want to go to heaven. We all want to be followers of Christ. Unfortunately, we want these things on our terms. We want to dictate to God how we will serve and what will qualify us for salvation. And typically, the cost of discipleship, in our eyes, is pretty low. Be a good person, do good works and you are in. Yet, in three brief exchanges with would-be disciples, Jesus shows that the cost of discipleship is high. Obviously, were it up to us to achieve our place in the kingdom of God, we would never make it. Thankfully, though, Jesus invites us and by grace, makes it possible for us to be members of His eternal family. He has rescued us from the captivity of the sins which oppress us. So that through Him we are gifted the mansions which our Father has prepared for us. And they were bought at the highest cost, no less than the blood of Christ paid for them.