Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 28, 29; John 9:22-41
“And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” – Luke 9:23-24 (KJV)
There are many in our world today who have some people they patterned their lives after, i.e. to become their disciples. This ranges from the politicians to footballers, artists to academicians etc. This is not uncommon in the body of Christ for some individuals to make themselves followers of some heroes of faith both in the contemporary times and those whom God had used in the past whose track record still speaks. The English term is derived from Latin discimulus, meaning pupil or learner, and exact equivalent of the Greek word mathetes. This refers to apprentice as we see in the disciples that Jesus Christ called.
However, there are strong conditions attached to becoming a disciple which Jesus has never waived since the first time of call till now.. What are those conditions? One of them is that: Whoever is willing to follow after Him must: deny himself. Anything that signifies self-centeredness should be completely dealt with. This is regardless of who you are. What is the level of your self-denial since you came to know the Lord? Another condition is to take up one’s cross daily. Cross remains the epitome of the sufferings of Christ and the very heart of discipleship. All the old disciples understood what this meant. The third is: follow me. Christ does not want His disciples to go ahead of Him but rather to follow since He alone knows the way.
When the pressure was becoming too much on the man that was healed, he asked the Pharisees: “…Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? Then they reviled him and said, you are his disciple but we are Moses’ disciples” – John 9:27b-28 (NKJV). And just as the man retorted, I am asking you also, would you like to become a disciple of Christ today? Let me encourage you to answer in the affirmative because that is the only way to become something meaningful in the hand of God. Make up your mind to enroll in His school to daily deny yourself, daily take up your cross, and daily follow him. This is not a one-off process but a subject till we see Christ face-to-face.
Prayer: Since the way of discipleship is the only way of learning Your way, help me to make this my daily pursuit and never to get tired in Jesus name.
Rev. Julius Oluwole