Some people cozy up to the anemic brand of Christianity that is equated with plush pews and pious prayers – even if it involves signing a pledge card, putting some money in the offering plate when it passes by. But Christian discipleship involves much more than sitting on a church pew and shelling out a few dollars.
Jesus chose twelve disciples who would carry on the work of His kingdom following His resurrection and ascension. Yes, He willingly trusted the work of His kingdom into their hands – even though the task of carrying the gospel to the entire world would not be easy. It is undoubtedly why He said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
They were shocked, flabbergasted, bowled over. They had possibly not understood until that moment that following Jesus would be anything but, as we say in today’s terminology, “a piece of cake.” It would require every last bit of their time and energy. This lovely, gracious, all-powerful miracle-performing Christ whom they thought was on His way to becoming Israel’s king was now predicting His own execution.
This is possibly what happens, in some degree, to many of us today. As long as we can go to church, hear a sermon and then go home, living pretty much as we please, indulging in our material gifts, using them for our personal aggrandizement while continuing to yield to our sinful desires and instincts, nobody is provoked, and we can continue our church relationship as an integral part of our lives.
But when the pastor’s sermons begin to mention cross-bearing and dying to sin, that the cost of dedicated discipleship goes beyond practicing the golden rule to the point of being totally committed to the work of His kingdom, many church members find it easy to cop out. Not everybody who goes by the name of Christian is willing to deny himself (or herself), take up his (or her) cross in order to follow Jesus. To accept the love Jesus carried to the whole world, and to lead the kind of life He taught us to live is not a part time job.
Discipleship means involvement. Jesus set the pace, and He expects His disciples to make an effort to keep that pace. He said, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you” (John 20:21). To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means accepting Him not only as our Savior but also as our Lord and Master. Too many church members try to sing both “I Love You, Lord” and “I Did It My Way.” That isn’t genuine discipleship. Jesus calls us to become involved with the tears, trials, and sufferings of humanity around us in specific caring ways.
The task every Christian is called upon to accept and to carry out includes proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot accomplish this mission merely by attending church on Sunday morning. We must go outside the walls of our churches into the community, sharing our faith with our friends and neighbors, with classmates at school, and with fellow workers where we work.
Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). He sent them into the midst of a decadent and sin-permeated world. It was, as if He had said: “You, a mere handful of individuals, have been chosen and imbued with power from on high to keep this world from decadence and self-destruction.” If there was ever a day in which our sinful world needed salt, it is today.
Fellow Christians: Jesus said we are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” There is no way we can be salt and light just by sitting on a church pew. Think about what that means in your life!
The Paper Pulpit 
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