Potential disciples

Matthew 8 : 18 - 22

"Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go"

The biblical scholar Karl Barth said: "To understand the Scriptures we must stop acting like mere spectators." When we start to do that and really 'enter' into the gospel stories, we might find ourselves more than slightly 'shaken' out of our comfort zones. I wonder how many of us have ever approached Jesus with the same eagerness as the scribe. We may have done so at our conversion or at various times when we felt moved to rededicate our lives to him. But, more importantly, I wonder what we heard Jesus answer!

Jesus' answer to both of them seems surprising. Wouldn't it be good to get more people on his side? He doesn't seem interested in numbers! Can you imagine a pastor today telling people who want to be members of his church that they will have to move around - no comfortable church building and that they had better make sure that their family obligations never take precedence over church activities. Of course this is not a perfect analogy, but it may illustrate the point that we would never think of making it difficult for people to make a decision to follow Christ today.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves: what would Jesus say to us if we were to declare that we want to follow him wherever he goes? His answer might be quite telling. I believe Jesus spoke to these two potential disciples to address the deficiency in their understanding of what discipleship to him entails. Each of them had a particular expectation about being a disciple. Jesus who knew their hearts spoke to challenge those expectations. Today, when we decide to follow Jesus, we tend to enrol in a church program to grow. This is fine. But it is important that such a program is tailored to the individual. Each of us comes to Jesus with certain expectations and understanding about discipleship. I believe it is important to listen to him and let him challenge our blind spots. He knows our hearts and he will challenge us not to discourage us but to give us a chance to count the real cost and to strengthen us.

Well, I must admit that I cannot remember saying those words at my conversion or when I rededicated my life a few years later. For me, the journey started with a confession of faith in Christ, without really understanding the true meaning and rigors of true discipleship. But the Lord is gracious anyway, and along the journey he has given me many more opportunities to make the decision to 'follow' or 'not follow' him where he leads. I am also trying to constantly listen to his 'answer' to my desire to follow him. I believe there will be many challenging things to hear. But I can trust that he does so to strengthen me, to make me aware of the blocks to finding my heart's true home.