Luke 14: 25-33
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
A Thought
Many of us will never be called to leave our family to follow the call of Christ. Christ tells the importance of considering the cost of giving our lives to be fully submitted to him. We must prefer God and Christ over all others. We must follow Christ daily and never turn back into a life of disobedience and sin. God always equips us with all that is needed to follow him whether our mission is to our local neighborhood or to a people we do not know in a strange land. We can fully trust God that all things work together for our good when we are called according to his purpose in every area of our life.
Our Prayer
Father thank you that you love us with your everlasting love and we can trust you with everything. Help us to not only consider the cost of being your disciple, but to also consider the cost of not being your disciple. Come, Holy Spirit, come. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
