COUNTING THE COST AND STILL WANTING TO FOLLOW JESUS
The apostles wanted to persuade people, not merely to escape hell or seek eternity in heaven, but to follow Jesus now, in this life, and on into eternity.
You don’t “convert” for merely a moment. You follow – and keep following.
Following Jesus means you are willing to start – and that you actually start.
And you start with the intention of finishing. You commit at the outset to run the entire course – no matter what.
And you start running and the course of the race unfolds as you run.
And you keep running. You keep following Jesus.
Jesus told the crowds to count the cost of following before committing to Him. He didn’t sell people on the benefits and advantages of following and leave the hard parts in fine print at the bottom of the page. Jesus told people up front that following Him meant that HE had to be given priority.
If He required something and your family disagreed, following Jesus meant you’d choose what He required over your family’s wishes.
If what He taught or required made your life inconvenient or uncomfortable, following meant you choosing Jesus over your comfort.
If what He taught or required led to mockery, ridicule, damage to your reputation, to friends abandoning you or treating you with contempt and malice – following meant choosing Jesus and taking the suffering.
If Jesus called you to bear something, you’d bear it and keep following.
If Jesus called you to leave something behind, you’d do it and keep following.
These are things that Jesus said (Luke 14.25-33 cf. 9.23-26; Matthew 10.34-39).
In building a church congregation (that’s what this blog series is really about) counting the cost of following Jesus must be a part of the gospel message.
A church consists of people who have counted the cost of following Jesus – and still want to follow Him.
You don’t “convert” for merely a moment. You follow – and keep following.
Following Jesus means you are willing to start – and that you actually start.
And you start with the intention of finishing. You commit at the outset to run the entire course – no matter what.
And you start running and the course of the race unfolds as you run.
And you keep running. You keep following Jesus.
Jesus told the crowds to count the cost of following before committing to Him. He didn’t sell people on the benefits and advantages of following and leave the hard parts in fine print at the bottom of the page. Jesus told people up front that following Him meant that HE had to be given priority.
If He required something and your family disagreed, following Jesus meant you’d choose what He required over your family’s wishes.
If what He taught or required made your life inconvenient or uncomfortable, following meant you choosing Jesus over your comfort.
If what He taught or required led to mockery, ridicule, damage to your reputation, to friends abandoning you or treating you with contempt and malice – following meant choosing Jesus and taking the suffering.
If Jesus called you to bear something, you’d bear it and keep following.
If Jesus called you to leave something behind, you’d do it and keep following.
These are things that Jesus said (Luke 14.25-33 cf. 9.23-26; Matthew 10.34-39).
In building a church congregation (that’s what this blog series is really about) counting the cost of following Jesus must be a part of the gospel message.
A church consists of people who have counted the cost of following Jesus – and still want to follow Him.