Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Luke 14:33 "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."
DISCIPLESHIP (Part II)
A dad and his ten year old daughter were watching a program on the dangers of drugs. The little girl turned to her father and very confidently announced, "I will never ever do drugs, Daddy!" Her father, a wise Christian man, said, "Don't say that. Don't ever say that!" He went on to explain that confidence in oneself was a recipe for disaster. He knew that "the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak." He told her that many children her age said, with all sincerity, the very same thing she said, but ended up getting involved in drugs anyway. He taught his daughter to realize how weak her sinful flesh was, and to rely on God's only and always on God's power.
Our Lord says, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."
Do you see it? Jesus isn't telling us to give up all of our material possessions and go live in a monastery somewhere. He's saying give up on your own strength and your own wisdom and your own power. He's telling us that God's blueprint for building strong disciples involves, first of all, forsaking your own resources. The world says, "Only when I have self-confidence, only when I have status, power, influence, wealth, only then am I strong." But the Christian learns to say with St. Paul, "When I am weak, then I am strong!" (2 Cor 12:10). It's only when God's Word leads me to empty myself that God's strength can enter into my heart and life and equip me to be a useful and dedicated follower of Jesus Christ.
