COUNT THE COST (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “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.”

Luke 14:25-26

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Following Jesus does not come without a cost. It’s a truth we find Jesus conveying during His ministry and one such instance is found in our passage today and in the ones to follow in this series.

It makes sense, right? For Jesus surely paid a heavy cost for all mankind which includes anyone who would choose to become His disciple. He sacrificed everything in order to be obedient to His Father God, fulfilling His calling to be the Savior of all, the blameless, priceless Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He died in the place of all sinners to save them from the coming judgment. All they would need to do in return is to believe in Him and then commit to live as He did, to live a life that was defined by complete humility and sacrifice, punctuated by an amazing, incomprehensible love.

Jesus paid the ultimate cost to save us. What is the cost to follow Him? Let’s look at today’s scripture passage as He lets us know one thing we need to give up.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “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.”  Luke 14:25-26 NIV

As was often the case, Jesus had drawn large crowds of people who started traveling with Him. Perhaps they were drawn by His teaching. Maybe it was His miraculous acts of healing. Or perhaps it was to see Him once again drive out demons from those who were spiritually afflicted. Whatever the reason, Jesus was in the company of a large convoy of people but we get a sense that although they were journeying with Him, they had not yet made the move to follow Him, to become His disciples. We can gauge this through the words He chooses to deliver to His audience:

“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.”

It was a proclamation that had a bite to it, at least in the NIV translation. For asking someone to hate their families, their parents and siblings, would have been a difficult proposition for anyone who truly loved their beloved ones. And we see Jesus even taking it to a personal level and saying a person even needed to hate themselves before they could be counted among His followers. It probably was not easy for those listening to digest.

So what was Jesus getting at? Was He really calling on people to hate their father and mother, contradicting His Father who had rendered the commandment for one to honor their parents (Exodus 20:12)?

The answer comes by looking at a different translation of the same passage, this one the Good News Translation:

“Those who come to Me cannot be My disciples unless they love Me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.” GNT

Now, the words of Jesus come into better focus for us. For He was really telling those listening to Him that they needed to love Him more than they loved anyone else in life, even themselves. It wasn’t that someone was to withhold love from their parents and siblings. Rather, they were only to reserve their highest level of love for their Savior above everything.

This was one cost of following Jesus and it’s one that needs to be counted by anyone who wants to be His disciple. It’s one grounded in a similar commandment, the One Jesus said was the greatest when asked by an expert in the law:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

The greatest commandment is centered on giving all love to the Lord. All of it with all one has. Jesus showed what this love looks like when He went to the cross for us and laid everything aside. Such was His complete love for the Father, the Father who was giving Him up out of love for all the people in the world He created.

Jesus modeled sacrificial love in its most perfect state.

As Christians, we are to live as He lived.

And so, if we want to be a disciple of Jesus, we need to be willing to give away all our love to Him… heart, soul, mind, and strength.

It’s just one of the costs of following Christ, one we need to count.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at another.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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