Count the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Jesus often had some pretty hard teachings.  Many people who call themselves Christians say that they believe Jesus is the Son of God and that they believe in Him.  And, yes, Jesus teaches that this is what is required to have eternal life.  But, is this really all that He means?  I believe that Donald Trump is the President of the United States and if I voted for him, then I am showing that I believe in Him… or trust Him to some degree.  Is that enough?  Maybe in American politics, but I am not sure this is what Jesus meant as He was teaching.

Paul said in Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”  So, there are two parts to making confession, according to Paul… say it aloud with your mouth and believe it in your heart.  Back to President Trump… do I believe in my heart that he is really going to be able to make things better?  Do I believe he actually has that much power?  I know for me, I would not bank on that.  However, Jesus is asking us to “bank” on Him.  In John 3:16 He states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  What does believing “In Him” look like?

These thoughts all came to mind this morning as I was reading Luke 14.  In verse 26, Jesus says that if you do not come to Jesus above your own family, then you cannot be his disciple.  That sounds very harsh.  Does that really mean that you have to “leave” your family and “hate” them?  I believe in context, Jesus is saying that we need to trust Him even more than we trust anything else, and that there may be a cost in following Him.  Why do I say that?  In Luke 14:27 it states, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”  In other words, there may be a cost to following Jesus.  We may lose friends, or family may not understand and there will be contention.  And, yet, Jesus calls us to come after Him to be His disciple.

This is where I find that I miss relationship with Jesus sometimes.  When I hold on to something more so than I do Jesus or His teachings or His ways, I find that I struggle.  I have come to believe that this is because I am not bearing the cross that is before me and choosing Him above whatever else is before me.  Let me give you an example.  When someone is in my home that is not a believer in Christ, I have to make a decision… do I still live the way I normally do day to day, or do I do things differently not to make them feel uncomfortable?  Now, if the person in my home is not a believer and is family, am I choosing to help them not feel uncomfortable, and isn’t that putting their comfort above my relationship with Jesus Christ?  Is Jesus then asking me to bear my cross (v. 27) and put my relationship with Him above the relationship with this family member?  If I do not do this, Jesus outright tells me that I cannot be His disciple.  I am not following His ways.  Does that affect my salvation?  That is another whole debate.  However, I do not believe there is any debate in the fact that it does affect my relationship with Him. 

In the next set of verses (Luke 14:28-33), Jesus tells us to count the cost of discipleship.  He says that if we intend to build a tower, we first have to sit down and decide if we have enough to finish the job.  If we don’t, then we may build a foundation and not be able to finish the tower.  Then He appeals to our emotions… all that behold that unfinished tower may begin to mock you.  Next, Jesus asks, “Who going to make war against another king, does not sit down first to decide if he can meet 20,000 coming at him with only the 10,000 that he has?”  Jesus’s final words in this passage are “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

When one comes to know Jesus, and through Him one comes to understand the love of the heavenly Father, then one WANTS to be His disciple.  However, there is more.  Years after I came to know Christ through an experience, I began doubting whether or not what was taught of Him was true.  I found that intellectually, I need the truth.  If Jesus is the truth, I want to follow Him with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.  If He is not, then why would one want to waste their life following someone they do not believe is true?  Jesus seems to have expected this from us.  He said, “Count the cost.”  He knew that we might believe that we have run out of funds to finish a job or we do not have the strength to follow Him.  He knew that we may look out and see an army twice the size of ours and we would be afraid to follow Him because something else may be more intimidating.  He knew that our family members would not be in agreement with us.  He knew that we would experience persecution; He taught that in other places in the Scripture.  However, Jesus was willing to tell us to follow Him, to take up our cross and be His disciple. 

For those that have ever done this, taken up their crosses, they have come to realize that the rewards are far greater than anything we have ever experienced physically on this earth.  I was challenged this week to reconsider this teaching of Jesus.  I have to daily count the cost and, IF I want to be a disciple of Christ, I need to take up my cross and follow Him. 

Although the next chapter of Luke (chapter 15) is about Jesus finding us and rejoicing, it spoke to me this morning of me finding Him.  When I lose ground in my relationship with Jesus, it is almost like losing the one in 100 sheep.  When I gain that back, I rejoice!  Everything about me may be following Christ, but in one area, I may be struggling.  When I turn this back over to Christ, there is a rejoicing.  I can relate to the woman who had ten pieces of silver and she lost one and went on a diligent search to find it (Luke 15:8-9).  I have felt like that woman this week trying to find that one piece of the puzzle that was missing in my life… that one thing that was lacking.  When I searched, and I found it, I began to rejoice for what I had lost.

I may not fully understand the teaching of Jesus to “Count the cost”, but I do understand that when I turn all over to Him, I am not ashamed and I am not taken captive by the opposing army.  Instead, I am rejoicing and the joy of the Lord is restored within me.

I don’t know if any of this makes sense to anyone else reading this today, but the Lord has brought peace to my spirit, and He did it through Luke 14 and 15 this morning.  I am thanking God for His goodness to me.  I am so grateful to a God who loves us so much that He always meets us right where we are.  If you are struggling, look to God… look to His Word.  I have found that He truly does give us all things for life and godliness.  Thank you, God!