“Those who follow Jesus’ commandment entirely, who let Jesus’ yoke rest on them without resistance, will find the burden they must bear to be light. In the gentle pressure of this yoke they will receive the strength to walk the right path without becoming weary.…Where will the call to discipleship lead those who follow it? What decisions and painful separations will it entail? We must take this question to him who alone knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows where the path will lead. But we know that it will be a path full of mercy beyond measure. Discipleship is joy” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

Jesus doesn’t need fans. He wants followers.

Jesus doesn’t need converts. Instead, He calls each and every one of us to be disciples.

What is a disciple? Is it someone who can rattle off a bunch of facts and doctrines about the Bible and Jesus?

Disciples in the time of Jesus were those whose entire lives were oriented around their rabbi. They walked when he walked. They stopped when he stopped. They ate when he ate. Everything he did, they did. Everything he taught, they took in so they could later teach others. Discipleship was (and is) a 24/7/365 process.

Am I willing to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus? Are you?

That is what it means to be a disciple.