Today, I’m going to expand on a thought we began exploring yesterday, and I’m going to use another term that was coined by Dallas Willard: non-discipleship. 

As we’ve discussed, there is a startling trend in our society toward not taking responsibility for choices and actions. Even sadder is the fact that this appears to be happening in the Church as well. In many congregations today, you can be a Christian without walking the narrow road, without paying the price, without sacrificing for your neighbor, and without serving people. What is often taught is that as long as you pray a prayer and ask Jesus into your heart, everything’s fine and you never have to sacrifice again. Although the prayer of salvation is very important, and the grace of the Lord to save your soul is where it all begins, there is also a call to be a responsible and moral person. This is much more costly in the long run. You see, becoming a Christian doesn’t just mean that you are saved and go to Heaven when you die, it means that you commit to becoming like Jesus. When you give your life to Him, you surrender your will and devote yourself to following in His footsteps, no matter how difficult it is and how much of yourself you must surrender to get there. 

Friend, there is a cost to discipleship, but I dare say that the cost of non-discipleship is greater. If you have every recreation this world can offer and Jesus is simply an “eternal life insurance policy,” I beg you to think again. All the things you enjoy today will not make it with you to Heaven, and if you focus exclusively on those pleasures, you will miss out on finding the most abundant life on earth. A fulfilled existence is one of sacrifice and service, and when you pay the price of becoming like your Savior, you experience peace, tranquility, contentment, and an abiding joy that is supernatural and transcends anything this world has to offer!