Friday, April 17, 2009

Discipleship

"What is the cost of discipleship? It is primarily obedience. It is the forsaking of many things. But since everything in life has a price, it is a price worth paying, considering that the great promise of the Savior is for peace in this life and eternal life in the life to come. It is a price we cannot afford not to pay.

Most of us think that the price of discipleship is too costly and too burdensome. For many it involves the giving up of too much. But the cross is not as heavy as it appears to be because we acquire through obedience a much greater strength to carry it:

'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' (Matt. 11:28-30)" ("The Price of Discipleship" by James E. Faust)

Discipleship doesn't have to be hard or miserable. The Lord gives us additional strength each time we obey Him! And the more we obey, the more strength we get, so that discipleship never needs to feel like a burden. Instead, it can feel like the greatest blessings possible- peace in our hearts and our lives and more and more of that pure joy that exceeds any fleeting and temporary pleasure we may be forsaking. It's worth it!

1 comment:

Mama D said...

I love this quote. It goes right along with my last post about my tactics for survival during challenges. I am grateful that obedience brings the blessing of greater ability to carry our various mortal loads!