Tammy and I have been considering joining a Spa. There is much to consider, expense verses what we can gain from the membership. In truth, the membership will require us to use the gym otherwise it becomes a waste of money, and people might joke about having a gym membership we never used (like we have not done that before).
Last time I talked about the cost of becoming a follower of Christ. Jesus calls us to evaluate the cost of becoming a disciple of His. Picking up in Luke 14 the Lord tells us the price of membership in Him.
The hefty cost is found in verse 26 - “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.” Our English translation uses the word hate, but the concepts is more that we must “Love” Jesus more than father and mother, wife and children, brothers, and sisters—yes, even their own life. Anyone who loves these more then Jesus will never risk everything for Him, thus he says in verse 27, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus is saying that you have to give up everything that might hold you back from giving your life for His sake. In light of the exorbitant cost, Jesus instructs those seeking to follow Him to evaluate the grand cost before they start. His two examples speak of each person evaluating the cost and acting shrewdly by planning for success, either in building or in seeking peace.
So many people profess Jesus or claim to be a Christian yet have not calculated the cost, and when the pressure comes, or the material struggle becomes so great, they abandon the sincere faith, clinging only to the name. Others fail and suffer ridicule for even trying to be a Christian, because they could not make to true commitment required. Jesus ends His teaching on the matter by saying that Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, it has become worthless.
Imagine if Jesus said the cost to become a disciple was that you had to pay a million dollars, who among us would not sell everything in order to be with Him everyday (see the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and Costly Pearl; Matthew 14:44-46). What if that cost was even greater, you must give all of your worldly possessions to follow Him (Rich young ruler comes to mind; Luke 18:22).
However, in this text (Luke 14:26-36) Jesus is raising the bar to the top. You must give your life, pick up your cross and follow him. But it must be a true commitment to carry your cross, an instrument of death. In reality Jesus is saying the cost of being His disciple is to die to self…
How much is Jesus worth to you?
No comments:
Post a Comment