cost.February 1st, 2012 2 comments

Jesus once told a story about a man who wanted to build a tower.

“Which of you,” he says, “does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him.”

He immediately followed that story with another about a king going out to war. When the king realizes he does not have enough troops to win the fight, he “sends a delegation while the other is still a long way off and asks for terms of peace.”

Some think these stories tell us we must count the cost of being a disciple before we sign up. That we must sit down and determine whether we have the goods to be “all in” enough for Jesus — whether we have the guts to stick it out.

But that is not the cost of being a disciple.

It’s also not the gospel. This is:

The heroes of both of these stories failed. The man could not finish the tower. The king could not win in the war.

They realized hope was finished before they had even begun. They stopped building. They stopped fighting. They needed another Way.

Jesus says: “In the same way (as these men), those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

What we must give up to be a disciple is our hope in ourselves and our plans. We must hate father, mother, wife and children, brother and sister, aspirations and dreams, not for who or what they are, but for the salvation they cannot bring us. We must realize that our towers cannot reach our God, and that our armies cannot win.

We must ask for terms of peace while we are still a long way off.

An end to self-trust. That is the cost of discipleship.

2 Comments

1. 

   Abby

   February 3, 2012 at 3:34 am · Reply

   I remember when I took my first step toward Jesus. I came home from school, frustrated with my life, and said to my dad, “I have to try something else, because my way is not working.” He invited me to a class at their church, and, for the first time, I accepted. The lesson I learned about the empty pursuit of finding satisfaction in anything but Jesus is eternally valuable. It’s also something I’m in a perpetual state of learning. I give thanks to God that this wisdom does not come from me, and He is quick and gentle in revealing that when I start giving myself credit. I would make a terrible savior, so I’m glad Jesus has done that for me (for us) instead.

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     Kelly (Author)

     February 3, 2012 at 9:21 pm · Reply

     I find that “I have to try Jesus because my way’s not working” is a decision I must make, day after day.