What discipleship is not...

I have always found the passage from Luke 9:51-62 that we looked at yesterday to be particularly convicting. I would have to say that over time I think I have bolted from being a true disciple of Jesus by being the antithesis of what He desires as expressed in the four vignettes described. To review, we see what discipleship is not:

• It is not Discipleship My Way - trying to conform Jesus to our expectations rather than what He is all about; doing the will of the Father
• It is not Discipleship Doesn't Count the Cost - we can say whatever we want to but unless we are going whereever Jesus is going then it cannot be discipleship. Discipleship equals followership.
• It is not Discipleship With Wrong Priorities - If Christ be God then there can be nothing that trumps following Him. He simply cannot be relegated to second place.
• It is not Discipleship Of the Tender Affection - Family is important yes, but we can't allow anything that we might cling to distract us from continuing firm and resolute with Jesus.

Those are no small challenges. Those are not the principles of a soft and compliant Jesus of our making, but rather a call to a serious discipleship that places Jesus in a place of utmost priority...because He must be.