A pastor was walking down a beach and found a bottle half buried in the sand. He reached down, picked it up, and started rubbing away the sand and silt, when suddenly the bottle began to shake, the top flew off and a huge plume of smoke filled the air. The pastor saw a genie standing before him who thanked him profusely for freeing him from thousands of years of captivity inside that bottle. The grateful genie offered to grant the pastor any wish he wanted for having set him free. The pastor thought for a moment and then said, “You know, I have always wanted to visit the Holy Land. I want to see all those places Jesus walked. But I’m afraid to fly, and I won’t go by sea because I watched that movie “Titanic” and I’m afraid of the water. My wish is that you would build a bridge across the ocean so that I could drive to the Holy Land.” The genie had a look of exasperation on his face and replied, “There are many things possible within my power, but I don’t think you understand the complexity of your request. Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to construct a bridge across the ocean? Can’t you come up with another wish?” The pastor thought for a few more minutes and then said, “I have a congregation of about 300 members. My wish is that you would make them all active members of the church, those who support our mission and ministry with their prayers, their time, their abilities and their offerings.” Now the genie was silent. Sheepishly, he replied, “How many lanes do you think the bridge should have?”

Why is it so difficult for followers of Jesus to be active in His mission? For the next few days I am going to ask you to ask yourself, “What is my mission as a follower of Jesus Christ, my Savior?” Our Lord told those who would follow Him to count the cost of discipleship.

Luke 14:27–30 (ESV) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

God, who has given you forgiveness and life and salvation through Jesus, asks you to live for Him. What is the cost for you to be a disciple? It cost Jesus dearly to make you His own. What will the cost be for you to be His disciple? That question is directly related to the question, “What is your mission as  follower of Jesus?”  Ponder that today.