Yesterday, 21 Coptic Egyptian Christians were beheaded by ISIS. Tom Schreiner at Gospel Coalition reflected on the suffering these men faced:
Jesus told us to expect persecution, teaching his disciples that unbelievers would hate us just as they hated him (John 15:18-20).
Jesus predicted that some of those who kill us “will think” they are “offering service to God” (John 16:2).
Even though most of us won’t lose our lives for Christ’s sake, we should not be surprised if we do. All of us need to be ready to surrender our lives for Christ. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple of Christ? Whether we want to realize it or not, it means to follow Him above all else, even at the cost ofd our lives. So Dietrich Bonhoeffer eloquently describes what it takes to follow Jesus:
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
I just wonder how many people would be in the church today if only true disciples of Jesus were allowed to remain, those disciples who would deny themselves, take up the cross daily, and follow Him. We can get a sense of what this number might be like based on how we are living today. If we are unwilling to give up our greatest treasures to the Lord right now, which would include our desire for a spouse, our children, our most prized possessions, then certainly, we would not be able to give up our lives for Christ.
I don't know what you think of Tim Tebow, but in a sense, he gave up his dream of being an NFL quarterback because he followed Christ. I know that many scouts and pundits argued he didn't have the skills to be one. But his last game was a loss in the second round of the playoffs, not much further than Peyton Manning has taken the Broncos. Before Tim, the Broncos hadn't been successful in a while. How can someone who only succeeded be booted from the game without even a chance (the Jets don't count because he wasn't given the chance). I think Tim Tebow also paid a price for his discipleship. And he won't be the last. We need not feel sorry for Tim though. He is making his life count for Jesus on and off the gridiron.
To follow Christ is to pay a cost. This world hated Jesus and we are not above our Master. If they hated him, they will hate us. And if they don't ever hate us, maybe we are not truly living as disciples of Jesus. Or even more frightening, are we even disciples at all? It's a question we need to ask ourselves when we see 21 believers of Christ lose their lives because they believe in Jesus.
To follow Christ is to pay a cost. This world hated Jesus and we are not above our Master. If they hated him, they will hate us. And if they don't ever hate us, maybe we are not truly living as disciples of Jesus. Or even more frightening, are we even disciples at all? It's a question we need to ask ourselves when we see 21 believers of Christ lose their lives because they believe in Jesus.