The Cost of Discipleship
“God calls each of us to deeper levels of trust, in our own personalized, God-scripted ways.”
Luke 14:25-33 (NLT)
A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “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.
Reflection
Let’s begin by sharing a hypothetical moment together. Ponder this: You’re lying in bed one night and for some reason you cannot sleep. Your mind is racing back and forth between thoughts from the day and all that is coming tomorrow. All of a sudden, your racing thoughts are interrupted by the Holy Spirit saying this to you, “Tomorrow, you and your family will move out of your home and move to another place of my choosing. Just start heading south and I will lead and guide you every step of the way. Remember I am always with you and will bless you.”
This would no doubt be an extreme change to one’s life. If you are thinking it sounds an awful lot like Abraham’s story, you would be correct. However, when you remove Abraham from the picture and place your life in his place, the reality of what is being asked suddenly comes to life. For some of you, this sounds like a great adventure. Although there would be some challenges to overcome, you would say you’re up for that challenge. There are, however, others of you who would want nothing to do with this. You may instantaneously become anxious and sweaty at just the thought of God even asking you to do such a thing.
No matter which way you choose to tackle this scenario in your head, every one of us will naturally find ourselves calculating the impact that something like this could have on us. Our scenario today is hypothetical, yes, but I know the act of counting the cost is not hypothetical to you, especially in your relationship with God. God calls each of us to deeper levels of trust, in our own personalized, God-scripted ways.
If our trust is in ourselves or anything apart from God, the lofty cost will overtake us in some way, leading us potentially to a place of resistance, rebellion, resignation, resentment, or rejection. Conversely, faith and trust in God tells us that there may be a lofty cost, a “cross” to carry, but God is for us. We can rely upon Him to provide us with everything we need to live out what He has designed for us.
Action Step
Each of you have had, currently have, or will have similar and yet uniquely different Abraham moments, where God requires you to have a deep trust in Him. I am sure some of these may not make clear sense from your perspective, and may stir in you a plethora of thoughts and emotions. Spend some extra time in reflection today, identifying the common thoughts and emotions you have. Next, find biblical faith-based truths that you can stand firmly in when you are tempted to put your trust in something else other than God.
Prayer
God, in love You call us continually to deeper levels of trust in You. You know that this is the most stable and life-giving way to live our lives. My thoughts, emotions, selfish desires, and many other things are constantly trying to dissuade me and place my faith elsewhere. Help me not only to know Your truths and promises for my life, but to have supernatural faith and step boldly into the places You call me. Thank You for always being present in my life.
A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “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.
Reflection
Let’s begin by sharing a hypothetical moment together. Ponder this: You’re lying in bed one night and for some reason you cannot sleep. Your mind is racing back and forth between thoughts from the day and all that is coming tomorrow. All of a sudden, your racing thoughts are interrupted by the Holy Spirit saying this to you, “Tomorrow, you and your family will move out of your home and move to another place of my choosing. Just start heading south and I will lead and guide you every step of the way. Remember I am always with you and will bless you.”
This would no doubt be an extreme change to one’s life. If you are thinking it sounds an awful lot like Abraham’s story, you would be correct. However, when you remove Abraham from the picture and place your life in his place, the reality of what is being asked suddenly comes to life. For some of you, this sounds like a great adventure. Although there would be some challenges to overcome, you would say you’re up for that challenge. There are, however, others of you who would want nothing to do with this. You may instantaneously become anxious and sweaty at just the thought of God even asking you to do such a thing.
No matter which way you choose to tackle this scenario in your head, every one of us will naturally find ourselves calculating the impact that something like this could have on us. Our scenario today is hypothetical, yes, but I know the act of counting the cost is not hypothetical to you, especially in your relationship with God. God calls each of us to deeper levels of trust, in our own personalized, God-scripted ways.
If our trust is in ourselves or anything apart from God, the lofty cost will overtake us in some way, leading us potentially to a place of resistance, rebellion, resignation, resentment, or rejection. Conversely, faith and trust in God tells us that there may be a lofty cost, a “cross” to carry, but God is for us. We can rely upon Him to provide us with everything we need to live out what He has designed for us.
Action Step
Each of you have had, currently have, or will have similar and yet uniquely different Abraham moments, where God requires you to have a deep trust in Him. I am sure some of these may not make clear sense from your perspective, and may stir in you a plethora of thoughts and emotions. Spend some extra time in reflection today, identifying the common thoughts and emotions you have. Next, find biblical faith-based truths that you can stand firmly in when you are tempted to put your trust in something else other than God.
Prayer
God, in love You call us continually to deeper levels of trust in You. You know that this is the most stable and life-giving way to live our lives. My thoughts, emotions, selfish desires, and many other things are constantly trying to dissuade me and place my faith elsewhere. Help me not only to know Your truths and promises for my life, but to have supernatural faith and step boldly into the places You call me. Thank You for always being present in my life.
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