Do you think there is more to Christian life than just having received the grace of being the sons & daughters?
Jesus asked His disciples to go and make DISCIPLES of all nations (Matthew 28:19). The mission of Peter, John, Matthew, and the rest of the other disciples were not only to share the good news but to make DISCIPLES of all nations.
Here is a gist of how Jesus teaches us in the book of Luke to groom ourselves to be His disciples.
- Prioritize Jesus First (Luke 14:25-27) – Jesus says if anyone cannot hate their family or their own life for His sake they cannot be His disciple. It is not the emotional hatred we should think about. He emphasizes that when we accept Christ, He should be our first and most priority. And giving up on Him because of our lifestyle or because of our near and dear ones does not qualify us to be His disciples. We were created to do His will and when we are taking up that responsibility our ultimate work will always be to complete it come what may.
- Know What it takes (Luke 14:28-33) – Being a disciple might be a choice made but it goes on as a COMMITMENT. Jesus teaches this with an analogy. If anyone wants to build a tower, he would first check if he has sufficient resources. But if he starts without estimating and checking if he has everything needed, he will only reach halfway through the construction. Similarly, it is important that we should first realize and understand what it takes to be Jesus’ disciple so that we are prepared well in advance and never give up. We need to seek God and understand what it takes for us to be His disciple and prepare well and then give Him our commitment.
It is important to know what it takes and prepare ourselves to run in that direction, not just for a few months or years but forever and every day because Jesus said in Luke 9:23 ” Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. “
He asked us to deny ourselves and take up our cross not rarely but DAILY.
Voice Of Jesus 