Bonhoeffers "Cost of Discipleship"

Today I bought a new book.  For those who know me, this would be of no surprise.  I've been a very avid reader since I was a kid.

this afternoon, I bought a very well known book by Dietrich Bohnhoffer, titled "The Cost of Discipleship."  The version that I have has over 30 pages of introduction, forward and memoir.  Though I am only on page 30-something, I am already getting excited.  Here was a man, even while in prison, who was strove to life his life solely for Christ, no matter the consequences.  In fact, the first chapter of this books is entitled "The Cost of Discipleship."  (I do apologize for any spelling errors...  I'm writing on my laptop without my book in front of me.)

That got me thinking the cost of following Christ.  Jesus Himself said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he myst deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."  (Matthew 16:24)  Honestly, how often do we really reflect on that comment that Jesus made?  How often do we prefer to focus on the other things that Jesus said in the Beatitudes, like:  "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God..." (Luke 6:20) or "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted..." (Matthew 5:4) or other such things?  Though such things are important to reflect upon, it's not the only thing that we need to reflect upon.

When God calls us to follow Him, He calls us to a life of obedience.  How many of the of the prophets of the Old Testament life a comfortable life?  In fact, may of them gave up comfortable lives in order to be obedient to what God called them to be.  The Disciple, Matthew, was a tax collector before Jesus called him to follow.  Being a tax collector meant he was a social outcast with the jewish society, but also that he lived very comfortably.  Yet, when Jesus called him to follow, he gave it all up.

For those of us in American, and many of the other Western nations, we have a very comfortable life compared to those in many of the other countries.  But yet, is being comfortable in life the most important thing?  Though God may enable some to be well off because of their position within a company or because of wise decisions with investing, is that really important?

I will be the first to admit that I really enjoy modern technology and modern conveniences.  Although ministering at two churches was not easy, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.  But, I have also been deployed to Iraq three times.  Especially during my first deployment, in 2003-04, when we went north into Iraq, I experienced a lot of hardships.  During my last deployment, I missed many of my son's firsts in his life (first steps, first words, etc.).  And, I was not happy at all about missing those firsts and many of the hardships of deployment.

However, during my last deployment, I got to know several Christians who live in the Middle East, who call countries like Iraq, Lebanon, or Pakistan their home.  Listening to the things that they endure on a regular basis put my life into perspective.  Listening to them share their real life experiences, the things they've seen, and reading about people like Dietrich Bohnhoffer....  It really got me thinking, again, about 'costly grace...'  Is following Christ costing you anything?  Then again, at what cost did we receive God's Grace, His "Amazing Grace" upon that cross?

RC