The Cost of Discipleship

We have all heard of "the Great Commission." It's found in Matthew, after the Resurrection and before His ascension. "Based on the fact that all authority has been given Me in heaven and on earth," He told them, "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:19-20). We know that; we've got that. Go and share the gospel. No, that's not what He said, but that's what the vast majority of us have come away with. The Great Commission obviously begins with "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15), but that's only the start. He said, "Make disciples," not converts. He said, "Baptize them," not cut them loose to go their own way. He said, "teach them to observe all that I commanded you," not "Oh, and good luck." The Great Commission is a lifestyle command, a lifelong task of bringing people to Christ, immersing them into Christ, and teaching them everything.

I think you'll agree that we, frankly, are not generally doing that. We are, at best, sharing the gospel and encouraging them to come to Christ, but taking them under our wing, walking with them, teaching them? Not so much. Why? What's the problem? As one pastor told me when I asked him, "That's just too much work." Too much work. Now, I think he was right; it is a lot of work. But, as one Christian singer put it, "Jesus rose from the dead, and you can't even get out of bed." In light of the grace and mercy and Spirit and gifts and ... it cannot be considered too much work. So why don't we do it? Some don't because they frankly haven't been told, which is odd because the vast majority of Christians have been told to share the gospel; just not this discipleship thing. I suspect that most of us aren't doing it, though, because we're disobedient. We're lazy. "It's too much work." "It's too hard." "I'm not qualified."

Discipleship is, indeed, a lot of work. That shouldn't really matter since it was a clear and specific command that Christ (the leader of Christianity) gave us. We don't do it on our own. Like all of the Christian life, we aren't the primary power. We do it because the One to whom all authority has been given commands it. We do it by the power of the One who promises to be with us always. The cost of discipleship is, certainly, high. What about the cost of disobedience? I would argue that the "mile-wide-inches-deep" Christianity we see today is a direct result of our refusal to disciple, to do a walk-alongside ministry with people we with whom we share the gospel and who meet Christ through our ministries. Why aren't we doing it? A question you'll have to ask yourself.