LUKE 14:25-35 – Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE SERIOUSNESS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN. Being a Christian, a born again person, by the mercy and grace of God found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most thrilling, most joyful, most purposeful, and most satisfying life someone will ever experience. Just pause for a moment and think what it means to be a Christian; forgiven and reconciled to God. Being a Christian puts us back in the position to fulfill the very reason for our existence – to know and love God. Not only is becoming a Christian the most exciting of adventures known to humans but it is the most important issue in life; eternity of torment or eternity of indescribable happiness is in the balance.

But there is something else about being a Christian – it is serious. Very serious. Go slowly over the words of the Lord Jesus I am about to type to see the seriousness of being a Christian – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:13-14; 21-23). The goal of our Lord Jesus and even the writer of this nugget is not to create doubt of our salvation. Just the opposite. These words are to further our assurance of salvation. We must confront ourselves with these words of the Lord and those in today’s scripture. We must grasp that professing to believe in Jesus and of being a Christian does not mean we are Christians. Profession of faith in the Bible is never the qualifier or definition of being a true Christian. The evidence of being a true Christian is found in a heart change that produces a life change of Jesus being Lord in all areas of life. Remember, Jesus didn’t come into the world to make converts but disciples – lifelong followers of Him who conform to His image by obeying His commands.

Time and space doesn’t allow us to expand on the seriousness of being a Christian. But I would encourage each of us to do something soon. Maybe even today. Go through today’s scripture and stop on each occasion of Jesus saying, “cannot be my disciple.” I have placed each one in bold and underlined type. As we do this exercise, meditate and pray through what precedes each one by asking the questions, “Are there any human relationships I place above Jesus?”, “Is there an unwillingness to deny myself and suffering for Jesus?”, and “Are the things and pleasures of the world having more of my heart than Jesus?” How we answer those questions will determine how seriously we take being a Christian and will affirm if we truly are Christians.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to discern that being a joyful Christian and serious Christian are not enemies or incompatible.”

QUOTE: “It is serious business to be a Christian. Christ never made it light or easy, but it is the greatest business.”