Count the Cost
““If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” – Luke 14:26-33 NLT
I think Jesus needs work on his discipleship pitch! It sounds a little harsh; yet when you pull back the layers of all he is saying, it rings absolutely true.
Many times in our lives, we neglect to count what something will cost: building a house, the insurance that goes up when you buy a new car, inflation, and on and on we could go. Yet when it comes to discipleship, there are many that want to be a disciple, but they don’t think it will cost them anything.
It’s pretty powerful to me that Jesus says “count the cost” on the front end. It isn’t emotional; it’s a choice.
Jesus died on the cross for my sin, but He also died on the cross so I could die to myself, my sinful flesh, my desires. He died so I could be free to say no to me.
If I choose to follow Him, it will require me to die, and die daily for that matter.
What needs to die in your life?
In my life, there are several things that I need to put on the cross. I do that by daily allowing the Holy Spirit to touch those things and by being in accountability with friends and mentors. It’s all our journey; it’s the work of the disciple.
Jesus says a key statement in verse 26, “by comparison.” Jesus is being honest that if we are to follow Him, He must be number one, without question and without doubt. He alone can sit on the throne of our heart.
This one thing will make every relationship in your life better. When Jesus alone sits in that place, we love with no strings attached, we honor even when it’s hard, and we let things roll off our backs that would normally cause resentment and bitterness to destroy our hearts.
Jesus isn’t saying it out of meanness; he is saying it because it’s essential in our lives.
The reality is that following Jesus could cost you everything. What I love about this is that you won’t lose it. You will always have the choice to give it up.
In a culture that pulls on our heart strings a million different ways, we must remember that our heart is already spoken for. Jesus is worth everything so He can require everything, never out of selfishness and always out of love.
Why is discipleship so hard? Because every step toward Jesus is a step into freedom and the life He died to give us.
I think Jesus needs work on his discipleship pitch! It sounds a little harsh; yet when you pull back the layers of all he is saying, it rings absolutely true.
- Count the cost.
Many times in our lives, we neglect to count what something will cost: building a house, the insurance that goes up when you buy a new car, inflation, and on and on we could go. Yet when it comes to discipleship, there are many that want to be a disciple, but they don’t think it will cost them anything.
It’s pretty powerful to me that Jesus says “count the cost” on the front end. It isn’t emotional; it’s a choice.
- Take a cross with you.
Jesus died on the cross for my sin, but He also died on the cross so I could die to myself, my sinful flesh, my desires. He died so I could be free to say no to me.
If I choose to follow Him, it will require me to die, and die daily for that matter.
What needs to die in your life?
In my life, there are several things that I need to put on the cross. I do that by daily allowing the Holy Spirit to touch those things and by being in accountability with friends and mentors. It’s all our journey; it’s the work of the disciple.
- Have no other gods before Him.
Jesus says a key statement in verse 26, “by comparison.” Jesus is being honest that if we are to follow Him, He must be number one, without question and without doubt. He alone can sit on the throne of our heart.
This one thing will make every relationship in your life better. When Jesus alone sits in that place, we love with no strings attached, we honor even when it’s hard, and we let things roll off our backs that would normally cause resentment and bitterness to destroy our hearts.
Jesus isn’t saying it out of meanness; he is saying it because it’s essential in our lives.
- Keep it all on the table.
The reality is that following Jesus could cost you everything. What I love about this is that you won’t lose it. You will always have the choice to give it up.
In a culture that pulls on our heart strings a million different ways, we must remember that our heart is already spoken for. Jesus is worth everything so He can require everything, never out of selfishness and always out of love.
Why is discipleship so hard? Because every step toward Jesus is a step into freedom and the life He died to give us.
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