Would Be disciples

Would be disciples are not disciples so why bother with then and what can they teach about discipleship? Well, it is true that they are not disciples but it is not true that we cannot learn anything from them. In fact, we can learn a lot. At the very least, we can see the obstacles that they had to their discipleship and avoid their mistakes. Also, we can see what it is that the Lord required of them and how that became obstacles to derail their discipleship journey.

One interesting thing about these stories is that they cause us to think. Some of us have felt that Jesus was very hard on some of these would be disciples, especially the unnamed one who wanted to first bury his father before committing to discipleship. Yet, we must not forget that these individuals volunteered. Why would they have done so if they were not willing to commit to discipleship? When we get to the root of the matter, it appears that these individuals had a problem that has become a bit issue in our age. They wanted to belong, but they did not want to commit. Lack of commitment is a curse of our age. Some young men want to say, "This is my girl, but they are not willing to make the commitment that would make that a reality. Even so, would be disciples wanted to belong to Jesus but were unwilling to make the commitment of belonging. What we must learn here is that there can be no discipleship without commitment to belong to Jesus and to follow His bidding.

Another interesting point is that when we look carefully at the cases involved, we see that there were no legitimate reasons why these individuals could not commit. They made excuses not in some cases were not even valid. Jesus read through them and saw their motives. This tells me that if we do not want to do something, we should be honest and upfront about it and not settle for excuses. Others can read through our excuses and God sees and knows everything. Do you agree? My final call here is for us to commit to Jesus all the way to become exceptional disciples for his cause who are also committed to making disciples.