The Cost of Discipleship

Meditations in the Season of Epiphany

February 23, 2022

The Cost of Discipleship

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Luke 9:23

Read: Luke 9:18-27

I believe we are living in an era of cheap grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Bonhoeffer contrasted cheap grace with costly grace: “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”

Verse 23 is included in the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In our process of spiritual growth, I believe there will come a time when we are able to own verse 23 as our own proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus in our life. For me, my time came many years ago when I came across this prayer of adoration:

O Lord, our Lord,

how excellent is Thy name in all the earth;

I worship Thee.

With all angels and saints I adore Thee.

I acknowledge Thee to be by Creator and my God.

I render Thee the homage of my being and my life.

I am not my own,

I am Thine.

By creation and redemption

I am Thine.

I will devote myself to Thy divine service

this day and forever.

O grant me grace for this, dear Lord.

Amen 

As soon as I first read this prayer, the words, “I am not my own, I am Thine. By creation and redemption I am Thine” resonated deeply within my soul. I knew this is how I want to live my life, knowing that my life belongs to God.

My Takeaway: “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:28 NRSV)

Salah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.