Are We Really His Disciples?

Dear Fellow Travelers,

    What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus? There are countless people who wear the label “Christian,” but I wonder just how many of them are truly His disciples.
     If a disciple is one who submits his/her life to a mentor, one who has given his/her life to learning from one much wiser, then what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? 

     Mere casual observation tells me that very few Christians are really disciples of Jesus. Oh, there are many Christians who are disciples of other men, other teachers, but few are really His disciples.

      To be sure, Jesus had some pretty drastic things to say to those who would be His disciples; for example, consider this: “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 carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it” (Luke 14:26-28 NASB)?

     The typical response to this text is this: He didn’t really mean that the way He said it, He was speaking metaphorically.

      We respond that way because the price is more than we want to pay, which is why He went on to mention the importance of calculating the cost before joining the ranks.

      I wonder: are you His disciple, or do you merely wear the label “Christian?” I am of the opinion that is much safer to simply wear the label than it is to join the ranks of those who follow hard after Him.

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).