Discipleship is the foundation of a healthy spiritual life. You must pay its full cost to develop a healthy relationship with God. As you seek to do this, God wants you to wholly devote yourself to becoming a disciple. The journey of discipleship is unfit for any double-minded person. Its cost is payable in one full installment, and in exchange, you have a healthy relationship with your maker. In teaching about the cost of discipleship, Jesus used the example of someone who wants to build a tower. He first estimates the cost of the whole project and evaluates his financial strength to complete it.

Jesus also used another example of a King who wants to go to war against another King. He considers his military strength before deciding on an attack plan. He retreats and sends a peace delegation if he has a weaker military power than the rival King. From these two examples, Jesus was clear that those who cannot give up everything they have cannot be His disciples. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus must be selfless, take his cross, and follow Him.

The formula Jesus used to choose His disciples.

The disciples of Jesus came from different backgrounds. They were important in Jesus’ ministry. How did Jesus know whom to choose from the hundreds or thousands of people who followed him? How did He know the right candidates for the job?

1. Personal hard work.

It is important to note that all the disciples of Jesus were hard-working people even before they joined the ministry. Jesus needed the right people to become His disciples, and the first notable thing he did was identify hard-working people. As He was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and Andrew, his brother, fishing. He asked them to follow Him and He will make them fishers of men. He also called James and John, sons of Zebedee, in a similar way as they were fishing with their father. Fishing was the main economic activity at the time and they were respected members of the community. They sustained their families with the job and leaving it would impact their dependents a lot. However, those He called left their work and followed Him.

Jesus also called Mathew from His workplace at the tax collector’s booth and asked him to follow Him. He immediately left his station and followed Jesus. The pattern of Jesus calling His disciples was based on their commitment to their work. None of the disciples was idle when Jesus called them.

The disciples of Jesus paid the cost of discipleship with their careers. Although it was expensive, they still did it to become full-time ministers. You can also pay this price to become a disciple of Jesus. You do not need to leave your work but you can incorporate His teachings in it. Involve God in your work and you will be a good disciple.

2. Uphold the highest level of ethics.

It is the guiding light in the life of a Christian. It is important to be ethical not because it is easy but because it is the right thing to do. Being ethical is a mark in your life that you are a disciple of Jesus. John the Baptist taught about this quality. Tax collectors should not collect more money than needed. Soldiers should neither extort money nor accuse people falsely. They should be content with their pay. It was and sadly continues to be a bad trend among different professionals to violate professional ethics. The cost of discipleship to your work is that you remain professional in all your engagements.

Flee from corruption, bias, and unaccounted-for favors in your workplace because they are a poison to your discipleship. They sabotage your efforts to become a good disciple. They stain your spirit with sin and you will fall out of grace with the Lord. Being ethical in your work builds a good reputation for you and is a way of evangelizing non-believers about the gospel. The world will see the reflection of God in your life and will want to become disciples too!

3. Devote yourself completely to God.

Devotion to the work of God is one of the costs of discipleship. It is going over and beyond the bare minimum to do something because you value it. Discipleship costs more than just doing the normal Christian routine. Consider how much effort you put in when making intentional valuable friendships. You create time for your new friend(s) because they matter to you. This is how discipleship should be – create more time for your relationship with God because it matters more to you. Jesus would go with His disciples to the mountain to pray more frequently than He would rest in His home. He admitted that foxes and birds have homes but the son of man has none. He would go to the mountain to pray and together with the disciples, create more time with God. This shows how much the disciples were devoted to following Jesus.

Discipleship may cost you some family time with your people because you have gone for prayers, conferences, crusades, or seminars. It may also cost you time for recreation because you are focused on your relationship with God, and nothing else matters at the time. Discipleship may rob you of your friends because you hardly have time for them, especially if they are not born again. However, you can forsake everything for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus taught that unless you can do that, then you are unqualified to be His disciple.

Understanding the cost of discipleship is crucial in improving your relationship with God. Peter, John, and James were more devoted to discipleship because they followed Jesus every time to pray on the mountain. The twelve disciples (even Judas Iscariot) understood the cost of discipleship because they were privileged to be under Christ’s tutelage. The church of today can improve its relationship with God by bearing the cost of discipleship.

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