Whoever thought that discipleship meant no sacrifice thought wrong. It's no big task to claim Christianity, but the act of becoming one is more than just a statement that we say, rather, it's a life that we live. To become a disciple of Jesus means a life of sacrifice. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, "When God calls a man, He bids him come and die." It sounds harsh, right? But that's the way it is.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20ESV
"You are not your own" means that you're not your own boss anymore. It means that you can't go renegade on God anymore, doing only the things that you want to do. There's no such thing as "My body, my rules" anymore. It's one thing to be a follower of God, but He wants more for us than just to be a Sunday Service attendee. It's the disciples who truly and unreservedly surrender their lives to the Lord that get to experience the fullness of the goodness of God.
Many of us who share the Word of God fail to introduce this reality to new believers right away. It scares them off because sacrifice is no easy thing. It's OK at first, but Christians can't be ignorant of this truth forever.
A lot fail to live consecrated lives thinking that "God loves me so He'll let me go to this party," or "I don't have to pray because someone's already praying for me." Stuff like these. People make excuses to avoid the meat of the Christian life. But as the verse says, "You are not your own anymore." When we give our lives to Christ, it means that it's His now, not ours. He gets to choose where we'll go and what we'll do. He gets to take the lead. The process of surrender takes time and the transition is not always an easy one, but we can't stay rebels from the Lord forever. We have to adapt to surrender.
When I first realized this, I had two choices: take my life back and fall from grace, or continue in surrender and live in His favor.
We're not at a loss here. I mean, sure, we lose a lot of what makes us who we are, but in return we gain a lot of new things that make us brand new people. Personally, I don't like the person I was before I surrendered my life to Christ anyway, so for me, it's a total win.
Jesus says in Matthew 16:25 that, "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." In other words, if we hang on to ourselves, we're headed in a disastrous direction. But if we give ourselves up to God, we will find life. And it's amazing because the promise of God is to give us life and not only that but to have it abundantly. It's an exchange.
When you give up your pride for humility, God can lift you up. When you let go of your anger, God can give you peace. When you let go of your rebellious nature, God prosper you. When you let go of your will, God can guide you along the right paths where you can never fail granted that you listen. It's a perfect exchange. He takes our filth and replaces it with gold. It's doesn't sound like a fair deal on God's side but that's how He wants it. He wants to take our worse so that He can give us our best. That sure sounds like love to me.
You're not free to ride along the ways of the world anymore. There are limitations now. It's not easy at first, but it gets better along the way. So, now, before you do something, you must be guided by these words,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31ESV
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17ESV
