"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him"
Luke 14: 26-28
Are you willing to give up all to be Christ's disciple? The verse here is a strong and powerful one- "If any man come to me, and hate not his father...." Do not be alarmed, the word "hate" here does not mean hate as we understand it, but to love less. In order words what Jesus is saying here is that to be His disciple we must love Him above all else. He must be everything to us, He must be the Lord of all. Nothing must be more important to us than Him.
Are you struggling in your spiritual life, to put God first? Have you made a commitment to be His disciple, and to put Him first in your life, but somehow at this point that you are struggling so hard to do so? Struggling so hard to let go of your old life and to place Him above all? Many people turn back at this point; they feel that they are not ready, that it is too hard. But hear this: if you feel that way, you are on the right track. Why? Because that is exactly what Jesus said- if you want to follow Me, you will have to give up everything. And that means we really will have to give up everything; the Lord means everything He says. And if you are struggling to let go, that means that He has led you to that point where He is training you to be disciple!
That is the crucial point, that is where we must not turn back. And that is what Jesus followed with these words- "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him." When we are hardly challenged in our Christian life, it is relatively easy to say to the Lord, I want to be Your disciple, because we hardly know what the cost of discipleship is. We may have vague ideas, and it may sound vaguely tough, but we have no idea how tough it can really be.
But when it comes to the crunch, and the real cost of discipleship is laid out before us and we understand what the real price is, that is when we must sit down and count the cost. That is where we will realise how much we will have to give up, and think about whether we are willing, and able, to give it all up. That is where the true test comes. And that is where we must not give up. The devil is out at every turn to get us down, and few things give him more pleasure than seeing an eager Christian fall flat on his face because He was unable to bear the cost of discipleship, and subsequently lose his passion for the Lord, and be more susceptible to his attacks.
So at the point of counting the cost, and struggling to make the decisions to go on, how do we do it? Simply, we don't. We don't look to ourselves, we look to the Lord. No matter how much you push yourself, or drive yourself forward by the sheer strength of your will, you will fall flat, because that is not what Christ's discipleship is about. Here is the key, "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." What is it that will drive us to, after counting the cost, lay down all and continue following the Lord? It is His love. Have you ever thought about how much He loves you? Have you ever thought about how much He has done for you? Our lives are but a tiny price to pay! Will we sit by and ignore the call of the One who has loved us eternally, and to whom we owe our entire lives?
It is definitely not easy. Till this day I struggle to live up to the words that I write, and foremost to the commands that Christ has given. And I know that I will continue struggling as well. But tasting what it is like to be Christ's disciple; to be wholly and totally committed to Him, and knowing His love, has kept me going. Paul was a great example- "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:24.
And there is more good news. "...and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it..." Will we have enough in us to keep us going, to fulfill the plans He has for us? Listen to what Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" 2 Cor. 3:5. This was a man who had suffered immensely for the gospel's sake, who had endured persecution and punishment. He would eventually die for Christ; He paid a greater price than any of us will ever know. And he found the strength to go on not in himself, but in Christ. "Our sufficiency is of God..." God's guidance will never bring us where God's grace will not provide. We have the confidence that even though the struggle may be hard, the resources of heaven are ours to call upon. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt 11:30. Jesus bore the weight of the world upon His shoulders, and knew the upcoming death that He would have to face, but He could still say that His yoke was easy and His burden light. Because He knew the depth of His Father's love and knew that His Father would always provide all the strength He ever needed. We too can face the deepest struggles and still say that our burden is light, because God is there to help us every step of the way.
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matt. 19:29. Yes eventually Christ's disciples will get their reward; but their reward will not be what the world deems as great. It will be the sheer joy of knowing Christ, the sheer joy of being part of His will, the sheer joy of seeing lives changed and touched by Christ, and the sheer joy of having His love burned deep into our own hearts.
I say this as much to myself as to you- Jesus counted the cost of saving us, the greatest price ever paid, and paid it willingly. Are you willing to do the same?
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him"
Luke 14: 26-28
Are you willing to give up all to be Christ's disciple? The verse here is a strong and powerful one- "If any man come to me, and hate not his father...." Do not be alarmed, the word "hate" here does not mean hate as we understand it, but to love less. In order words what Jesus is saying here is that to be His disciple we must love Him above all else. He must be everything to us, He must be the Lord of all. Nothing must be more important to us than Him.
Are you struggling in your spiritual life, to put God first? Have you made a commitment to be His disciple, and to put Him first in your life, but somehow at this point that you are struggling so hard to do so? Struggling so hard to let go of your old life and to place Him above all? Many people turn back at this point; they feel that they are not ready, that it is too hard. But hear this: if you feel that way, you are on the right track. Why? Because that is exactly what Jesus said- if you want to follow Me, you will have to give up everything. And that means we really will have to give up everything; the Lord means everything He says. And if you are struggling to let go, that means that He has led you to that point where He is training you to be disciple!
That is the crucial point, that is where we must not turn back. And that is what Jesus followed with these words- "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him." When we are hardly challenged in our Christian life, it is relatively easy to say to the Lord, I want to be Your disciple, because we hardly know what the cost of discipleship is. We may have vague ideas, and it may sound vaguely tough, but we have no idea how tough it can really be.
But when it comes to the crunch, and the real cost of discipleship is laid out before us and we understand what the real price is, that is when we must sit down and count the cost. That is where we will realise how much we will have to give up, and think about whether we are willing, and able, to give it all up. That is where the true test comes. And that is where we must not give up. The devil is out at every turn to get us down, and few things give him more pleasure than seeing an eager Christian fall flat on his face because He was unable to bear the cost of discipleship, and subsequently lose his passion for the Lord, and be more susceptible to his attacks.
So at the point of counting the cost, and struggling to make the decisions to go on, how do we do it? Simply, we don't. We don't look to ourselves, we look to the Lord. No matter how much you push yourself, or drive yourself forward by the sheer strength of your will, you will fall flat, because that is not what Christ's discipleship is about. Here is the key, "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." What is it that will drive us to, after counting the cost, lay down all and continue following the Lord? It is His love. Have you ever thought about how much He loves you? Have you ever thought about how much He has done for you? Our lives are but a tiny price to pay! Will we sit by and ignore the call of the One who has loved us eternally, and to whom we owe our entire lives?
It is definitely not easy. Till this day I struggle to live up to the words that I write, and foremost to the commands that Christ has given. And I know that I will continue struggling as well. But tasting what it is like to be Christ's disciple; to be wholly and totally committed to Him, and knowing His love, has kept me going. Paul was a great example- "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:24.
And there is more good news. "...and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it..." Will we have enough in us to keep us going, to fulfill the plans He has for us? Listen to what Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" 2 Cor. 3:5. This was a man who had suffered immensely for the gospel's sake, who had endured persecution and punishment. He would eventually die for Christ; He paid a greater price than any of us will ever know. And he found the strength to go on not in himself, but in Christ. "Our sufficiency is of God..." God's guidance will never bring us where God's grace will not provide. We have the confidence that even though the struggle may be hard, the resources of heaven are ours to call upon. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt 11:30. Jesus bore the weight of the world upon His shoulders, and knew the upcoming death that He would have to face, but He could still say that His yoke was easy and His burden light. Because He knew the depth of His Father's love and knew that His Father would always provide all the strength He ever needed. We too can face the deepest struggles and still say that our burden is light, because God is there to help us every step of the way.
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matt. 19:29. Yes eventually Christ's disciples will get their reward; but their reward will not be what the world deems as great. It will be the sheer joy of knowing Christ, the sheer joy of being part of His will, the sheer joy of seeing lives changed and touched by Christ, and the sheer joy of having His love burned deep into our own hearts.
I say this as much to myself as to you- Jesus counted the cost of saving us, the greatest price ever paid, and paid it willingly. Are you willing to do the same?
