"A COMMITMENT TO DISCIPLESHIP"

"As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

Luke 9:57 

One of my all-time favorite film franchises is "The Karate Kid." It paints a beautiful image of the relationship between a teacher and a student. It's an underdog story that teaches friendship, loyalty, integrity, and many other valuable life lessons. The karate scenes are merely icing on the cake. I watched the movies when I was a kid. I also enjoyed the series when I was in my early twenties, and I still watch them now that I have kids.

In the movie "The Karate Kid," Daniel Larusso (the main character) is a teenage boy who moved from Newark, New Jersey to Reseda, California. He quickly finds himself in a difficult situation as a group of karate students keeps bullying him daily. Long story short, he found Mr. Miyagi, a war veteran and karate sensei (teacher) whom he convinced to teach him karate, but Daniel must understand that karate is for defense only. Mr. Miyagi made Daniel do day-to-day chores—from waxing cars to painting fences. Daniel eventually grew tired of the tasks and questioned Mr. Miyagi why he wouldn't teach him karate. To Daniel's surprise, those chores were designed to build fundamental karate skills such as strength and endurance. Enough of Karate Kid, this is a devotional blog, by the way!

Today's verse is part of a passage where Jesus talks about the price of discipleship. It was common during Jesus' for people to come to Him because He was the most famous man in Israel, always teaching people, healing the sick, and doing things never before seen.

In this passage, three men come to Jesus, telling Him their intention to follow Him. The first man volunteers to follow Jesus wherever He goes. This man has no idea of what he is trying to get himself into. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified.

I guess everyone who has seen Jesus and His impact on people would want to follow Him. Knowing man's propensity to connect himself to established individuals, it's not difficult to identify the origin of this desire to follow Jesus.

The landscape has not changed. Even today, countless people profess faith in Christ and pledge to follow Him but fail to count the cost of being His disciple.

Several young men have come to me asking for help to mature in their faith, practically asking me to be their mentor. I laid out my terms and conditions, such as regular church attendance and a commitment to studying the Bible. For a couple of weeks or so, they were eager to learn, but eventually, they lost motivation and found themselves quitting and going back to their old lives.

We need to understand that coming to Christ is more than just being enamored at the moment. It demands a lifetime of commitment. We must, first and foremost, consider the Lord's demands. Like a karate student who must obey his sensei without questions, so we are expected to submit to God unreservedly.

Are you committed to the Lord? Are you willing to follow Him all the days of your life?

Pursue the Saviour today!