Jesus and Politics 101

It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that TV viewership goes down during an election year. I say that because I can’t be the only one who despises political campaign commercials.  Yes, they are incessant and repetitive, but the thing that really gets to me is the pie in the sky promises of good.  I heard one the other day that communicated that under Candidate A’s leadership, services would be protected and expanded, jobs would be created, the deficit would be reduced, our borders would be strengthened, etc., etc., all while taxes would be reduced.  He should have just thrown in the promise to end world hunger and all children would grow up to be professional athletes.  The sad thing is, this tactic works.  It’s how you get people to follow you.  So much good with apparently no cost to anyone. 

So when I read Luke 14:25-35, where Jesus tells those who are following him that they must hate their families, their own life, and pick up there cross and follow Him in order to be His disciple...
I wonder if Jesus understands politics.  Where are the endless promises for free?  What do you mean I have to change the way I think about others and myself?  What do you mean that I need to lose my life?  No doubt some people who were following Jesus at this point left and returned to their old way of life.

Jesus wanted it to be very clear that being his disciple was going to cost us something.  It is going to cost us our desire to be in ultimate control over our own life.  What we want for us, for the sake of us, needs to be thrown out.  To be Christ’s disciple we must first consider the cost.  So often we try to follow Christ but find that what he calls us to is in contradiction to our old sinful nature.  Let us not be foolish in thinking that we can hold onto that old stuff and yet gain Christ.  When following Christ gets hard and trials and persecution come let us not be surprised.  It is part of the cost of a life in Christ.

Here is the really good news though.  The cost of following Christ is insignificant in scope to what we gain.  What we think we have to give up is really nothing at all.  Jim Elliot the well-known missionary martyr once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that he cannot lose.”  Any comfort, pleasure, security, reward that can be attained in this world is mud and rubbish compared to a relationship with the one true God, the King of kings.  May we consider the cost of our discipleship and be reminded that it is large in our eyes but small from an eternal perspective. 

Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” – Mark 8:35

-SH