The Cost of Following Him

I found this while looking for some verses. And it was very challenging so I've posted it up to share with everyone.

Most of the time, when we look at the New Testament, we focus on the verses that make us feel good, that comfort and encourage us. But we must not also forget that Jesus taught many things that ask a lot from us. And just because we don't read it or remember it does not mean it isn't there.

It was never His goal for us to live comfortable lives here on earth. If we do get that along with the rest of His many blessings, that is all well and good.

But He wants from us our everything. When we become Christians and say we are Christians, it is not only by name that we proclaim whose we are. Just as we cannot say we are students and not study, or say we are workers and not work... we cannot be Christians and not follow Him.

Have you ever stopped to consider what it has cost you, and what it will cost you in the future to continue to be His disciple? Can you sincerely say yes to Him when He says the cost is putting Himself higher than ourselves, our families, and our loved ones?

How far will you go for Him? How willing are you to let go of the things you hold tightly and carry your cross behind Him? Your answer determines the difference between being His disciple and... just being one of the people in the crowds who tags along wherever He goes.

It is a lifetime process to be His disciple, but He says we who will not give up everything cannot even begin to be His disciples. He is looking at the willingness of our hearts, not necessarily our ability to give things up. For the Bible says we can do all things through Christ the Lord who strengthens us. And when He asks us to let something go, He will equip us with what we need in order to do His will.

But He is not looking for disciples who will run away and go back to their old ways when it becomes hard to follow Him. You are either in the race or out of it. You either finish building the tower or not build at all. You either win the war, or not start it at all.

So the question is not whether we will be able to give things up for Him, but are we even willing to begin with?

Luke 14
The Cost of Being a Disciple 

 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

   28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

   31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

   34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

   “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”