Count the Cost

 November 11, 2024

Monday

Luke 14:26–30 (NASB 2020)²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’

I hear so many people say that they need to put God first but that doesn't seem to be what the Lord tells us. Following the Lord is putting the Lord beyond a list of other things that are important. It is more like a whole other category than having other things that are the next on the list. I suppose there are people who love their cars but would they put that love against their own children? In other words, how far down that list would the car come after they had listed their children? It is a whole other category.

That's what it is like to follow Jesus. He is not in the same list with family or even your own life. He is a category that has no other members. 

This means that there will be no question when acting for the Lord. This means that nothing stands between the Lord and yourself. 

The problem is that many people are making the decision to love the Lord on a moment-by-moment basis. They need to make the decision that they will go the distance no matter what. Yes, it is counting the cost that says that the cost doesn't matter. It is saying whatever it takes. It says that convenience, possessions, family and even their own lives will be forfeited for the sake of Christ.

I remember having a speaker tell about the bravery of a young lady who was executed after saying she was a Christian. One of the people there stood up and said that this was crazy. He told his daughter to say that she wasn't a Christian if her life would be taken because of it. Unfortunately, that is the Christianity practiced by almost all Christians. It is the Christianity that is built on convenience. It is the Christianity that will allow the world to go to hell. It is the Christianity which has no testimony. It shows up at Christmas and Easter sometimes. 

But some people don't want that. A small number of people who call themselves Christians take the words of Christ seriously. They have counted the cost and decided that the cost doesn't matter. They are the Christians who are following Christ. They know Him intimately. 

Unfortunately, their testimonies make no sense to those who have never sacrificed for Christ. It is all nonsense to them. Those who walk with Christ know that the real nonsense is trying to hold onto their lives. They know that they cannot gain anything that way.

So, where are you? Have you counted the cost and determined it is worth it? Or, are you like most every other Christian who says the cost is too high?