“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28, ESV)
There is a cost to everything. Jesus tells us to count the cost. There is a cost to the house you buy. There is a cost to the car you drive. There is a cost to the dinner you eat. Everything has a price.
But the cost is not always money. If you chose to eat poorly, you do so at the cost of your health. If you chose to spend frivolously, you will find yourself in debt.
However, cost is not just associated with poor choices. The cost of eating healthy is to sacrifice food that tastes good but is bad for you. The cost to saving money is to sacrifice spending on things that many might consider essential.
There is a cost to following Jesus. Jesus says that whoever would come after him must take up his cross. The cost of following Jesus is giving up our worldliness. It is giving up our pride. It is giving up control.
But what is the cost of not following Jesus? Misery? Sorrow? A constant striving to achieve what cannot be achieved?
When we compare the cost of following Jesus to the cost of not following, the picture becomes clear. We realize the cost of following Jesus is really no cost at all. We discover that in the end, we will gain so much more than I ever lost.
The reason is that Jesus gave all for us. There was no cost too high. He shed his blood and gave his life for each of us. He gave everything so that we could have all things.
Reflection
- What have you given up for the sake of following Jesus?
- What are you holding on to and reluctant to give up to follow Jesus?
Prayer
Jesus, I will follow you. There is no cost too high compared to what you give to me. Yet, oftentimes I am reluctant to take up my cross. I am reluctant because I view the sacrifice to be too great. When I am reluctant, I ask that you would remind me of the prize. Give me a heavenly vision. Help me to see that anything I would give up in this world is nothing compared to the riches you have in store for me. Amen.
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