A disciple must always realize that he lives in a world of cost. When God became flesh, He penetrated time and space in Jesus Christ to redeem fallen man. But God could not do this without cost.
So with me. For Christ to be “formed” in me (Galatians 4:19), I must be willing to bear the cost. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says that the image of Christ is formed in us only when we suffer for Him. That is debatable, but at least it is true that for God to become man in Christ meant suffering: rejection, loneliness, and finally death.
When Christ comes into my life He brings His intensified feelings with Him. That is why a Christian is more sensitive than an unsaved person to evil and wrong. Further, the more Christ has of me, the more intense those feelings inside me become, for, after all, Jesus Christ was the most evil-sensitive person who ever walked the earth. I cannot walk very far with Him without weeping over the lostness of man, the insanity of evil, and the intolerable suffering that evil brings upon human beings.
I notice one obvious thing about Satan: he is absolutely lacking in feeling. If he possessed any feeling at all, he would no longer be Satan. He is the opposite of God, who is total feeling. Whenever evil prevails in men, they, like their infernal master, become “past feeling” also.
A mark of true discipleship is utter sensitivity to evil and utter compassion for those bound in its grip. That is the cost all disciples of Jesus Christ have to pay. That is why Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33). Tribulation? That troubles and scares me, Lord. Then I hear You speak again, “But take courage; I have over-come the world.”
“The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned” (Psalm 34:22).
Daily with the King 