[1]Whose hungry? Here’s the menu special of the day, the
Discipleship Sandwich. It’s the only
thing on the menu board. The two slices
of bread in this sandwich are “Renounce Your Family” and “Renounce Your
Possessions.” In between is the toughest
meat imaginable: “Carry Your Cross.” This
Discipleship Sandwich must have been just as hard to digest when Jesus
described it to the crowds on his way to Jerusalem two thousand years ago, as
it is today. Nobody I know would
voluntarily order this sandwich. I
wouldn’t be surprised if those who did order it only got a few bites into it
before leaving it, unfinished, on the table.
Renounce your family. Carry your cross. Renounce your possessions.
There’s
got to be something wrong with this sandwich.
Is it that there is too much cholesterol, too many calories, too many
carbs. Jesus doesn’t even offer a tasty
drink to wash it all down.
I
wish I could go on a diet and avoid this one sandwich. I don’t want to renounce my family and my
possessions. I certainly don’t want to
carry my cross! But when I look up at
the Menu Board, I’ve got to remember that I’m not at McDonald’s. I’m not here to be “McSaved” and I don’t want
to be a “McChristian.” I’m standing in
line for real salvation and the Lord is calling me to be a real Christian.
So
I’m putting off my diet and I’m ordering the Discipleship Sandwich. I’m going to remember that “renouncing my
family” and “renouncing my possessions” simply means not letting my
relationships or my things get in the way of “looking for the cross” or
“embracing the cross” when I find it.
Renouncing is hard; but it’s not impossible.
Here’s
a little side McNote. You know when you
go through the McDonald’s Drive Thru, the cashier usually throws in all kinds
of freebies in the bag we might need: salt and pepper packets, little tubs of
dipping sauce for your McNuggets, ketchup for your McFries, sugar for the
McCafe, a straw for your McShake and a fist full of napkins. You get enough free stuff to start your own
little McLandfill in your car.
Well,
with the Discipleship Sandwich, the Lord throws in some freebies in too. In the bag you’ll find packets of mercy and
forgiveness; little tubs of love and compassion. Salvation is in there too, it’s down at the
bottom of the bag: just look for it.[2]
You
ask, what’s the cost for a Discipleship Sandwich? Redemption costs nothing. Discipleship will cost you everything.
