Today we begin the Everyday Disciples series with the opening topic of ‘Counting the Cost’. The first question in the study guide sparked interesting conversation in our young adults LTG, ‘What are some things that you are willing to pay for to provide you joy, whereas other people are maybe not so inclined to pay the cost?’
Some examples were a gym membership, you count the cost financially but also physically in the hope of being healthy in return. Or some may find travel important and worth paying over a house or car. Another example could be evaluating the cost of renting or living at home. With renting you are able to live in the area you’d like, but living at home it is an opportunity to save money. It seemed like each choice we were making we had thought it through and we were able to justify our standing that the cost was worth it or not.
At times, Jesus calls his disciples to carefully weigh up the cost of following him. He outlines the potential sacrifices and challenges they might face when committing to him. They will be poor, they will have no place to lay their head, they will be despised and rejected, even killed for the sake of Christ. Here, in Luke 14:26-33 Jesus lays out that he really needs his disciples to think through what they are committing to when they say they will follow him.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Yes, we can respond to God’s grace and believe in Jesus quickly, almost immediately! But becoming a disciple of Jesus is no quick tick. Just with anything, you don’t become a dentist instantly, it takes years to train. You don’t become a solider on a whim, there is a rigorous process to make sure you know what you have signed up for. When I read this passage, it seems to me that Christ is calling for commitment, for people who have weighed up the pros and cons, and yet are willing to give up everything for the joy of knowing Christ.
We see this happening in Acts, as people listen to the apostles teaching in Jerusalem, more and more believers are welcomed into the kingdom of God. As they do this they are faced with the reality of following Jesus. They begin to surrender their livelihoods, their properties, houses, money, skills, hospitality, time, relationships and everything! I see people who are serious about their commitment to Christ and are willing to pay the ultimate cost, death itself.
Yes, we can believe in Jesus quickly, but it is so important that we don’t cheapen the call of what it means to be a follow of Jesus. That He himself, is calling us to count the cost as he asks if we are committed to following him to the end.
Ash
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