The Conditions of Discipleship
A man got lost in the desert. Walking and walking, he was so desperate to slack his thirst with a drink of water, then, he found a shack and entered to look for water. There was no water except an old, rusty water pump. He run to it and pumped it. No water came out. He staggered back, weak, discouraged. He squatted on the floor. He found a jug beside him. He took it and brushed the dust off the outside markings. “You have to pour the water from this jug to make the pump work. P.S. Be sure to refill the jug with water for the next use,” it said. Thoughts were racing: “Should I pour all the water? If so, what if the pump won’t work? Or should I just drink the water? If so, what about the next user? If I poured all the water, I could lose everything. It could yield fresh, cold water as well. If I just drink all the water, there won’t be any water to pump out water from the well.” He thought for awhile and then poured all the water. At first, no water came out. “Squeak, squeak, squeak,” sounded the pump until finally water gushed forth. He had enough water for himself and for the next user. He took the jug and added the following words: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give everything away before you can have a refill of good water.”
In our Lenten journey this year, Jesus sets before us a triple recipe of how to be His disciples: deny self, take up the cross daily and follow Him. He says: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”