Count The Cost

Luke 14

25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
28 “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? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31 “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? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

Count the cost before you agree to follow Jesus. To make Jesus Lord of your life means that you give all rights to that life. You literally put your life in His hands. Too many folks say they want to follow Jesus, but they don’t want to let Him be the boss of them. When I was buried with Christ on August 27, 1985, and raised into a new life with Him, I gave up the tight grip I had tried to maintain on my life. My plans of media work then politics went out the window. I could not imagine wanting to hang out with teenagers in a student ministry, yet 22 years later, I am still hanging out with them (whether they like it or not is another story, grin). My life has been so much richer than it would have been otherwise. I am the most blessed man on this planet, and it is all because I decided to give it all over to Jesus. I am not rich by the standards in the United States, but God continues to supply my material needs (not necessarily my wants, but I am learning to be okay with that). I am married to the most beautiful woman on the planet, and we have three children who love Jesus with their lives…what else could I possibly want? I have the privilege of leading others in a time of corporate praise and worship each Lord’s Day, and there is the aforementioned student ministry of which I am still a part. Yeah, I have counted the cost, and that which I gave up is NOTHING compared with that with which I have been blessed by following Jesus!