Never Omit the Cost

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ‘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. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

‘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?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”

‘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? 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. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.’” (Luke 14:25-33 NIV)

It happens almost every year in campus ministry.  A student commits to being a leader for the next school year, and then, sometime during the summer or just as school begins, he backs out of the commitment.  The reasons vary, but usually it involves a lack of a time due to other commitments.  Students are often very excited about being in leadership, but in their exuberance often fail to contemplate the cost in time and energy.  

A similar thing can happen with new believers.  They start out all excited to follow Jesus, but then they fall away.  They aren’t prepared for how difficult it is going to be.  

Often, I think, this is the fault of the church.  We so desperately want people to become followers of Jesus that we try to make it easy for them.  We tell them all they have to do is say the “sinner’s prayer,” or that if they only give their hearts to Jesus every problem will be solved in their lives.  This is not what Jesus told people who were showing interest in following Him.  Instead, He told them it would be a very costly decision and that they should consider carefully before making it.   How costly?  You should be prepared to give up everything in your life—your goals (Luke 9: 59-62), your family (Matthew 10:35-37), and even your very life (Mark 8:35) to follow Jesus.  

This is a steep price and Jesus tells us we should consider carefully whether or not we are willing to pay it.  As He implies in His parables, to make the decision lightly is to risk personal embarrassment and public disgrace for the Lord.   We probably can all think of at least one person who falls into this category.

The cost of being a follower of Jesus is high.  We do no favors to anyone by making it sound easy.  If Jesus felt it important to explain the costs clearly, then we need to as well. 

Today, recognize we serve a Lord who demands our willingness to give up everything to follow Him.  When telling others about Him, you should not omit that fact because He never did.

© Jim Musser 2016