Christians, or rather disciples, are people who claim to follow Jesus. Anyone that wishes to become a disciple should know who Jesus is before starting to follow him. Maybe Jesus is not exactly like the Sunday preacher, religious leader or even me. I am not trying to run the pastor or leader down but this is a really important consideration. What would it be like if Jesus was your pastor or leader? What could you expect from Him? Would your services be the same and would they always simply be “Nice” or “Peaceful”? It is important for us to really look deeper into this question or we may fall short of truly following Jesus Christ. You may be surprised when you learn to know Jesus, how your life needs to be! Jesus was not crucified needlessly. Something we need to know about Jesus is that He represents the purest form of love and compassion that exists in the universe. We also need to understand the depth of what God has done for each one of us personally. This is a paradox (contradiction) with far-reaching implications for you and me. Joh 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." On the receiving end for this relationship, God gave his Son, Jesus Christ, as a ransom for you and me. He did not hold back the very thing He cares for most, His Son. As evil men and women, this is an incomprehensible action to sacrifice your son. God gave up Himself to save you and me (By the way this explains something about our worth to Him). John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. Just as with any marriage, there are conditions or obligations that comes with this privilege or gift. That contract binds you and me to do the same with our lives that God did with his Son for us. God makes giving up our lives a condition for following him. The scriptures are full of the condition of laying down our lives with far-reaching consequences for our daily lives (if we truly accept this truth). What is unique about John 13 is that it is called a “NEW COMMAND”. So what is so new? According to the Old Testament or Jewish belief, we were only expected to love our neighbour (Lev 19:18) but with this “NEW COMMAND”, we are commanded to lay down our lives for one another. We are therefore called to the same standard of love as God did for us. There goes your career, your plans for yourself, your comfort, your time, your money, your dreams, etc. This new teaching is confirmed in several other scriptures (Luke 9:23-26; Luke 14:33; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16; 1Jn 2:6) If you want to receive God in your life you have to give your life. This is one of the most fulfilling teachings that give true purpose to our lives, we are called to no longer live for ourselves and not to gratify our sinful nature. So I say: “Take me, take everything because I want this treasure, even if it cost my life”. If this marriage is really so good why not give up your life? If the prize is eternal life with the most perfect and loving creator with all his goodness and grace, why not? I don’t know about you, but sign me up! Therefore it is written: Mat 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. So what am I saying? It is awesome to be disciples of Jesus Christ! ……and give me more, give me more! I am trying to persuade and motivate you to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ! It is awesome and very tough at the same time! Be sober about what it really means to be a disciple or a follower of Jesus. Anything less than this isn’t the truth. You are not just called Sunday service meetings and maybe you should reconsider if you really want to be a Christian or a Disciple because it might not suit your lifestyle or image. If you are not ready to give it up, then don’t. In more than one scripture Jesus tries “to switch on the light” on this topic. We don’t often hear a lot of those scriptures in the church as they may be too challenging for our modern, politically correct and accommodating Christian views. Here is an example: Luk 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." And also: Luk9: 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, v"Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." And many other similar scriptures (Mat 8:18-22; Mat 10:21-23; Mat 10:32- 39; etc.) Jesus teachings are not necessarily politically, diplomatic and socially correct as it includes teachings that are hard to accept and caused many to stop following him. Jesus’s teachings may result in fewer members and less money in the church coffers. Let us as individuals follow the Jesus that we find in the scriptures and not people.