The Cost of Following Him

By Judy Cheetham
There is indeed a great cost for choosing to follow our Messiah, Jesus Christ; however, when we first chose to follow Him, did we really know what that price would be?

I can personally say I did not know. I remember hearing the gospel over sixteen years ago. Never once did anyone tell me that the decision to follow Him would cost me nearly everything that I held dear.

No one rushed to point out what Jesus said in Mathew 10:22:

“You will be hated by all for My name’s sake,” (NKJV)

or in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12:51-52 when He also said:

“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three” (NKJV).

I am not sure one really considers the sacrifices that they will need to make or the persecution it will bring them when they hand their life over to the Savior. However, as our journey in Christ deepens, we begin to realize how heavy the cross is that we are required to carry.

The weight of this cross meant I would suffer rejection from family members and friends. I no longer receive phone calls from siblings just to chat, nor is my home a place where frequent stops are made by family and friends as it once was. Most of them say, “You’re in over your head” and that I have become fanatical about Jesus.

Well, they are right; I am fanatical about my Savior, but are we not supposed to be this way? Should not our love for Him be this great?

I do not agree that I am “in over my head,” because I so desperately long to go deeper still in this relationship with Him. Jesus said in Luke 14:26:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”

The word “hate” in this passage does not mean to literally hate these people or yourself. Its translation comes from the Greek word miseo, which means “to love less” (Carroll Roberson, The Christ, His Miracles, His Ministry, His Mission, 2005.)
Therefore, instead of just acting fanatical about my Savior, I am actually being obedient unto my Lord and putting Him first in my life over all things, including family, friends and the desires of my flesh.

This transformation did not happen to me overnight. In fact, I sadly admit it took many years for me to reach this point in my life. It was not until I was filled with the Holy Spirit that I began to slowly die to myself. The more I removed the things of this world out of my life, the more room there was for Jesus to take over. The more He took over, the deeper my love for him grew. However, the more I grow in Him, the greater the persecution I face from family and friends. A famous hymn states exactly how I feel about this transformation in my life:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of his Glory and Grace
(Helen H. Lemmel, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” 1922. Retrieved from library.timlesstruth.org).

Does this hymn reflect the transformation you have also experienced?

When we examine ourselves, we should be able to see the radical changes that have taken place in our lives. We should be experiencing persecution and rejection from our family and friends.

However, if we have not experienced either of these and if our life has not been significantly changed from what it was previously, then we must ask ourselves, “Have I truly made Him the focus of my life?”

It is when we allow Him to sit in the driver’s seat of our lives that we experience the cost. As followers of our precious Savior, let us be set apart from this world and make Jesus the priority of our life. If we will be obedient, put our hand to the plow and never look back, making it all about Him and not about us, then we can be filled with His perfect peace and unspeakable joy.

I have learned that the more I empty this vessel of mine and allow Him to fill the empty space, the more I will be able to stand the testing for His name’s sake. I do not consider any of the things I have left behind to be a sacrifice, because I have gained so much in return. I am not less than I was before, but rather more than I was before. Every breath I take I strive to make for Him and with Him. When we give ourselves over wholly to our Lord, we are giving Him the honor and glory He truly deserves. Therefore, let us be fanatical about Jesus; let us become obsessed with our King. In return, the reward will greatly exceed the cost of following Him.

In His Love,

Judy Cheetham