March 3 – The Cost of Discipleship

Gregg’s Reflection

Discipleship is not cheap. It calls us to reorient our lives around the priorities of the kingdom of God. This often means letting go of habits, relationships, or ambitions that keep us from fully following Jesus.

The cost can feel high, but the promise is greater. Jesus reminds us that whoever loses their life for His sake will find it. The way of the cross is not about loss for its own sake, but about exchanging what cannot last for what will never be taken away.

When we count the cost and still choose to follow, we discover a deeper freedom. The things we once clung to no longer hold us, and we are free to live fully in God’s love and purpose.

Scripture

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’

Matthew 16:24

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Luke 9:24

Ancient Quotes

If you wish to rise, begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.

St. Augustine, Sermon 69.2

Let me be food for the wild beasts, through whom I can reach God. I am God’s wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ.

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Ch. 4

Modern Quotes

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death to self-will and security.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 99

Character is costly, and only choice and experience through time can produce it.

RENOVARE Bible Notes, Revelation

Journaling Prompts:

• What has following Jesus cost you?
  
  
• What have you gained in return?
  
  
• Is there something God is asking you to let go of now?

👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 9 Reflection: Discipleship