You are probably very familiar with the time Jesus called His first disciples.
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishers. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him (Matthew 4:18-20).
Their fishing business occupied much of their time and provided income and security for their families. Without a doubt, fishing was central to their lives. Yet, at the command of Jesus, they left it to follow Him.
As they followed Jesus, He gave them a more challenging command. However, this time, the command included a compelling reason to obey it.
If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? (Mark 8:34-36)
In our day, a cross is often a piece of jewelry, serving as either a symbol of devotion or a pop culture statement. In Jesus’ day, the cross was the most painful and shameful way of putting a person to death. Think of the worst curse word in modern culture, and “cross” was the equivalent of that in the ancient world.
Peter and Andrew gave up their business, but now they faced the possibility of death on a cross for following Jesus.
The logic behind leaving their business—and eventually giving up their lives—had to do with the danger of saving their lives on earth, only to lose them for eternity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrase “the cost of discipleship” in his famous book. Dallas Willard had this to say about Bonhoeffer’s insight: “There is a cost to being a disciple, but the cost of non-discipleship is even greater.”
Discipleship completely rearranged the lives of Peter and Andrew, and eventually, they lost their lives in martyrdom. Did they make a good bargain?
We can put their decision in perspective when we compare Jesus’ disciples with the powerful people of their day. We name our children Peter, Andrew, Paul, Mary, and Martha—the names of Jesus’ followers. We name our dogs Nero and Brutus.
Besides the honor of being heroic and devoted followers of Jesus, there is the eternal reward of faithful discipleship. If you gain the whole world and lose heaven, you’ve made a bad bargain. If you lose everything on earth but gain heaven, you’ve made the best choice in the world.
The Kingdom and the Lord’s Prayer
With all of the above as a background, let’s turn to the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer.
May your kingdom come.
May your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
These words open the doors of our hearts for Jesus to treat us as He did Peter and Andrew. Recognizing Him as King, they left their fishing business to catch people for God. They denied themselves, followed Jesus, and literally took up their cross.
As we pray this portion of the prayer, let’s ask ourselves whether we have allowed Jesus to redirect the course of our lives:
- Are there areas of our lives that are “off-limits” and inaccessible to Jesus?
- Where have we not denied ourselves so that we could better follow our King?
- What daily practices indicate our desire to follow Jesus?
- If we were living in heaven today, what would we be doing differently from what is currently taking place?
The best way to understand this portion of the Lord’s Prayer and to incorporate it into our lives is to observe the way the disciples responded to Jesus in the Gospels. They didn’t always get things right, but they willingly followed Jesus as their King.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. You can find it on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 