“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

A high school assembly program included three military recruiters, each assigned fifteen minutes to speak. The Navy and Army recruiters each spoke well beyond their designated time, which left the final Marine recruiter with only two minutes. He walked to the podium and stood in front of the microphone in silence for a full minute. Then he spoke. “I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. But I want to see those two or three in the dining hall immediately after we are dismissed.” He turned smartly and sat down. Following the assembly a mob of students waited in the dining hall to talk to him.

Jesus was always clear about one thing—to follow him would be costly. It seemed sometimes as though, like our Marine recruiter, Jesus deliberately set the bar too high for most people to follow him. After all, if someone wants to recruit large masses of people for a cause, wouldn’t it be logical to make it as appealing as possible? Yet, Jesus said things like “deny yourself…take up your cross…you must be slave of all…go and sell all you have…and foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”. He even had the audacity to say “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26)”. Isn’t that a bit unreasonable? Not for genuine followers. Jesus knew that an unwillingness to leave behind what is comfortable and familiar would lead to half-hearted devotion to Him and His purposes.

Intentional grandparents who are serious about following Christ simply are not content to settle for being “good” grandparents. They have joined a generation of men and women who count the cost and have laid aside their personal agendas to fulfill Christ’s agenda to reach another generation with the Gospel. This is radical grandparenting, something very different from the typical, run-of-the-mill grandparent.

It is probable that only a few of you are willing to be that kind of grandparent today. If you are one of those few, will you join me on September 11th as we work to assemble groups of grandparents for a Grandparents’ Day of Prayer? If you are among the few radical grandparents committed to the next generations, I invite you to also contact me about hosting a NOT ON MY WATCH grandparenting conference in your church. Most importantly, if you represent the few willing to follow Christ unconditionally, I urge you to not grow weary about the intentionality required to represent Christ to the next generations, including your own grandchildren. I would appreciate knowing—are you ready to join the cause? Write me and tell me you want to be part of the team.

GRANDPAUSE: God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.?–Hudson Taylor