Condition of Discipleship |
"go and sell that thou hast [...] and come and follow me.." (Matthew 19:21) The first essential step to becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus is to give up and part with everything that belongs to our old life. Only when we deny ourselves, our thoughts and everything we believe we are can we bow down to pick up our cross and follow Almighty God. We must "sell everything," renounce all natural goals and expectations, and be willing to die to everything we were and had before we committed to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Even after we take this first essential step, we must daily resist the temptation to take our hands from the plow and look backwards to the things we have renounced. As long as we esteem things pertaining to the old life, our feet will drag us back and our eyes will glance behind to the things we had committed to resign. We must instead fix our eyes upon the goal, and refuse to permit our hearts to waver from a whole-hearted dedication to our Lord Jesus. There is only one way to be a disciple of Jesus and to follow Him - complete surrender of the heart and mind to His will and acceptance of His ways with no reserve. Jesus wants to take dominion and to exert lordship over all aspects of our existence. No place in our heart may be occupied by anything else but the Lord Jesus; His presence with us needs to infuse and penetrate every affection, His righteousness needs to impact all aspects of our daily life, and His perfect will needs to run like living water through the depths of our minds. When we become aware of the priceless gift and unmatched privilege of being called to follow Him, we will no longer desire to cling to anything that would hinder, encumber, suffocate or bruise the manifestation of His divine life in and through us. Only when we are ready to sell everything are we indeed ready to follow our Lord Jesus. With hearts ablaze for Him, we will be able to show forth the light of His love, the radiant beauty of His face, the eminence of His calling and the glory of His inheritance. We will then see our previously treasured possessions for what they really are - worthless bundles, heaps of junk, foul air and meaningless distractions. As we behold His face daily, grow in communion with Him, delight in the fellowship of His suffering and consider His great love for us and the inexpressible price that was paid for our redemption, let us be encouraged and inspired to press on with abundant joy, strengthened hope and unwavering devotion to the Lord who calls us to be partakers to His immeasurable glory. |