He who calls

The cost of being Jesus' disciple.

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.-Luke14:25-33

To be Jesus' disciple meant renunciation of all attachments including loved ones, loving Jesus more and above all else, denying oneself and carrying his/her 'cross.' And, for me, it seems the path a disciple walks on to is a narrow path. Easier said than done. But let us bear in mind that Jesus is the One calling, and we are only responding.

If Jesus is the One calling, then He knows exactly our capacity, strengths and weaknesses. He wouldn't call us into something which we cannot handle. Aware of the existence of our frailties, Jesus knows that there is strength in each and every one of us. But how come many cannot survive it? For me, it is because we choose to handle things our way, we choose to face everything alone, we silence Jesus' instruction if it is contrary to what we want. In other words, the moment we focus and listen to ourselves more and more, the more we push Jesus away. And as we push Him away, a gap increases separating us from Him. The strength and power to survive everything rests in the shoulders of He who called us. Yes, for as long as Jesus is in our very existence, nothing will harm us. For as long as Jesus is in the very center of our lives, we have nothing to fear. We can face everything, we can be better individuals, we can survive any tests because Jesus is the One helping us. Perhaps, He is even the One solving everything for us.

Image courtesy: various artists