In response to “Seven Costs of Disciple-Making” by David Mathis, desiringGod.org.

If you’re a parent, think about the hardest moment you’ve ever had with your child. In that moment, when it felt like things couldn’t get any worse, what kept you from simply deciding not to be a parent anymore? It’s a high-cost relationship, but the gain is worth the sacrifice, right?

In this desiringGod article on discipleship, this brief allusion to parenting struck me the most. We never consider giving up on our children, so why do we do that with disciples? What will help us be willing to pay these high costs of discipleship? 

Unwillingness to make sacrifices is not primarily a problem of will, but a problem with our affections, which drive our will. We cannot, however, find the remedy to our unwillingness through greater exertion. The remedy is the gospel because the gospel corrects our affections, teaching us of the deep abiding love God has for us and those around us. 

As the gospel molds our affections, we gain a new perspective that helps us move beyond ourselves. Some believers don’t engage in disciple-making because they think they don’t have the right information or the right skills. Others are full of confidence, believing they have found the answers and are prepared to guide others — through self-reliance.

A gospel-centered approach isn’t concerned with what we bring to the table, but what Christ has brought to the table. Love for Christ — and, flowing from that, a love of others — is what will drive us naturally to sacrifice ourselves and invest our lives into the lives of others. 

The gospel cultivates our affections and protects us from putting too much emphasis on what we personally have to offer. We will become effective as disciple-makers when everything we are is directly tied to Christ and the good news of the gospel, and everything we aren’t is covered by the same. We won’t be deterred by the costs or by our limitations when we are filled with gospel-informed love for God and His people. May we “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:8).

Terrance and his family live and make disciples in Italy.