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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“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? For if you lay the
foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule
you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”
“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? 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.”
Luke 14:28-32
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Giving Jesus love first above everything
else and fully committing yourself to His service, willing to carry your own
cross and die if necessary to answer His call.
These were just two of the costs Jesus
mentioned as He addressed large crowds of people who were traveling with Him to
Jerusalem. And anyone counting those costs would see there is a lot of
consideration needed before anyone chooses to enlist themselves to the cause of
Jesus, the cause of the Gospel. It’s a life’s work that is not for the faint of
heart and there isn’t room for underestimation, the message Jesus sends today
in the third devotion in this series of counting the cost of being a disciple.
Look at these words in our continuing look at Luke 14:
“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? For
if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it
will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to
finish.’”
“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? 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.” Luke 14:28-32
Here we find Jesus using
two very different illustrations to frame His main point that underestimation
is foolish and even possibly dangerous. Note here that He chooses examples that
His audience would be familiar with and able to relate to, showing us that we
can and maybe should make our points as Christian teachers in a way that is
fundamental vice using complicated doctrine and theology that is over the head
of a majority of believers or those considering belief in Jesus.
In the first example,
Jesus has those listening imagine that they desire to build a tower, an
extravagant place to live in biblical times. It certainly would be a project
that would draw the public’s attention as the builder lays the foundation,
curious to see how grandiose the finished product might be. But then
construction was suddenly halted. The builder had to stop construction after
realizing they had not properly estimated the price of their project. Unable to
finish what they started, the person would find them self embarrassed, the
target of ridicule in the community as people laid eyes every day on an
unfinished foundation with nothing upon it. It all could have been. They jumped
into something without fully knowing what they were getting into.
If only they would have
counted the cost properly. It all could have been so much different.
In the second example,
we see Jesus upping the ante in regard to the hazards that can happen when
someone underestimates the cost attached to their choices. Here, we find Him
changing the reference point from a lowly builder to a lofty king who had to
make decisions where there was much more at stake than an unfinished foundation
and any subsequent shame and disgrace.
There is a sense of
urgency in this second illustration as an imposing enemy army is advancing and
ready for war. The king at the center of the example has a quandary on his
hands as he has 10,000 less men in his fighting force than does his opposition.
Those aren’t good odds for victory.
It seems simple enough,
right?
Anyone who was wise would
count the cost of going against their enemy and realize the likely outcome would
be a lost war with a lot of people needlessly slaughtered in the process. So to
avert catastrophe, the king would send a delegation while the opposing army was
a long way off to broker a peace deal with the hope of warding off any conflict
and bloodshed.
Any king who would do
this would have counted the cost properly, weighing the risk incurred against
the possible benefit gained.
Two examples. One where
a person underestimated the cost, the other where they didn’t.
When it comes to being a
true disciple of Jesus, which one of these two examples will we be?
Will we be like the
builder, jumping in and starting to be a Christ follower, only to find
ourselves quitting when we realize what we signed up for, unable or unwilling to
finish what we started?
Or will we be like the
king, carefully assessing the cost of our decision, and then making the right
decision moving forward, knowing fully what Jesus requires of us and willing to
do whatever He asks of us.
One thing’s for sure. Deciding
to follow Jesus is not a choice anyone should make lightly. For it will always
call a person to a level of sacrifice and surrender beyond anything one has
ever experienced before.
We’ll look at the depth
of that surrender and sacrifice tomorrow in the final devotion of this series.
Have a blessed day.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
2 comments:
Just looking closely at the two parables or illustration by Jesus. I actually thought they were same, but the decision of the builder and the king is really different. Great insight on counting the cost. Thanks for sharing
Thanks so much Peter. It's amazing the perspective we gain from the scriptures when we allow the Holy Spirit guide us toward understanding. I'm grateful the words provided were a blessings to you.
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