Holy Boldness

Him. Jesus wanted followers before He sought out students. He was not looking for people to “take a class.” He was looking for a company that would go with Him and be with Him. The first issue and the last issue of discipleship was to “be with Him” . So much popular Christianity pro motes an occasional conversation with God but not an ongoing and con tinuous relationship. The twelve were invited into a mission that would first change them personally. In the doing, there had to be a becoming. The transformation would come in the doing. The core of discipleship is the transformation of the very fabric, the DNA, of a person. Being followers of Jesus was no small undertaking for the disci ples. They certainly had to count the cost in terms of outward things they would be obliged to leave behind . It involved leaving family, friends, businesses and many things unforeseen. But it also involved a type of rejection that many had never experienced. Jesus brought a message that was consistent with the scriptural promises found in the Old Testament but were nevertheless misunderstood and misapplied by the present generation. When Jesus perceived that some who offered to travel with him had not fully understood the challenges, He cautioned them; “The birds have nests, the foxes have dens but the son of man has no place to lay His head.” (Luke 9:58) Why did Jesus say that He had no place to lay his head? It was because the world was not prepared for all that He intended to do. There was no place to call home because Jesus was a foreigner to all that the world had declared to be normal. John wrote, “He (Jesus) came to His own but His own did not receive Him…” (John 1:12). Those who chose to associate with Him would be exposed to the same types of rejection and persecution. Jesus was fully aware that what He was inviting men into was a l ife-transforming journey. He purposely set the bar high for His disciples knowing that it would take everything they had to walk it out. When Jesus called men to himself, He invited them into an explosive challenge, the challenge of changing the entire world. This was not immediately understood by the disciples as is made clear by numer ous recorded conversations between the disciples and Jesus. The disciples were on a continuous learning curve because Jesus’ mission was radical in the most profound sense. Jesus did not come to simply help individuals but to radically alter the trajectory of the nations. He did not come to The Challenge of following Jesus

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