On the way to work this morning I heard a local pastor encourage the radio listeners to “try church”. That got me to thinking about a related topic - does one “try” following Christ?

Unfortunately, the “easy believism” often espoused by the traditional contemporary church lends itself to this mindset that one can “try” being a Christian. Simply walk down this aisle and say this prayer. Try Christ and see if your life doesn’t get better. No wonder there are multitudes of present-day “Christians” abandoning the faith.

In the gospels, I don’t see Jesus encouraging anyone to “try” following Him. Rather, He commands that we follow Him (Mark 2:!4; Luke 18:22; ; John 12:26; 21:19) and cautions us that anything less than full commitment on our part is not sufficient (Luke 9:57-62). Jesus even warns us that following Him entails sacrifice (Mark 8:34). We must be willing to give up everything to follow Him (Mark 10:21). But what we gain in following Christ is priceless (Matt 13:44-45).

We don’t “try” following Christ anymore than we should “try” marriage. Marriage requires a whole-hearted, life-time commitment; anything less won’t suffice. It’s precisely because so many set out to “try” marriage that our culture experiences such a high divorce rate.

Just how much commitment does following Christ require? Jesus shocks us with His words in Matt 10:37: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Wow. Think about that. Does that sound like a tentative experiment?

How many times do you hear someone who is about to make a decision to follow Christ, being told to first carefully count the cost of that decision? Do we ask someone wanting to publicly profess faith in Christ if they have first counted the cost? Have they really thought this through? Are they willing to give up everything if necessary? Because that’s precisely what Jesus tells us ….

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33 ESV)

How many people would come down the aisle if we made sure they understood this? We do a great disservice when we encourage people to “try” following Jesus. If one truly considers the high cost of following Christ and is not ready to make an unwavering commitment, they are not ready to follow Christ. One who is “trying” Christ is not following Him. Such a person is not a genuine disciple and is like the false disciples in John 6:60.

A good way to understand the commitment required to follow Christ (and for getting married!) is to think about skydiving. Once you exit the door of the aircraft, there’s no getting back in. You’re going all the way to ground no matter what. Going out the door requires nothing less than full commitment.

Find out who Jesus is. Count the real cost of following Him. And then follow Him. With all of your heart without second-guessing or looking back.

Bob
Fides Quaerens Intellectum
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Bob Pratico
Fides Quaerens Intellectum
(my Sojourn blog)