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….He Who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Lk14:25-33 Have you ever sat down and calculated the cost? The cost is not for salvation but for discipleship, someone Jesus himself teaches and uses. I was getting my hair cut this weekend and the girl, twenty three at best, knocked me for a loop. When I left I can remember telling Jesus, it’s me and you, not even this girl is worth the loss. It was like Satan showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and telling him all this is yours if you bow down and worship me. Sit down and count the cost. Will you give up job promotion and financial gain if it means taking away valuable time with Jesus? The time spent in being a devoted husband, father, and brother, are you willing to give up these? Your own life, going to the movies, going to the beach on weekends, the books you like to read, maybe sports or social entertainment, can you give up these? The examples Jesus gives are building a house and not being able to finish or calculating whether your ten thousand soldiers can defeat the enemies twenty thousand. The condition for discipleship is giving up everything. This is about as difficult as it gets. But someone who counts the cost and abandons the world, forsakes it all for Christ, is useful to God. The person who spends his free time in solitude and silence, the person who spends his time in the word of God and not in television, the person who crucifies his flesh with its passions and lusts, the person who lives by faith and not by the written code, that person has the potential for discipleship. It begins with salvation asking Jesus into your heart and pleading the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sin. It means receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you are not left without the aid of God because without his help the cost would lead you to real sickness and despair. It means slowly stripping yourself from the world and mortifying the deeds of the flesh so that you become sensitive to the still small voice of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It means receiving the blessing of Abraham, the Father’s Spirit so that the triune God is working in unison on your behalf. Jesus in this parable is telling it like it is. For most people the cost is too great. They cannot give up all the natural to gain all the spiritual and because of this there are countless denominations, theologies, and beliefs. If you count the cost and are willing to pay the price, it can only happen with the help of God. The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Amen |