Great crowds … multitudes are following Jesus to Jerusalem. Jesus is fully aware that there is a difference in expectation between him and these huge numbers of people. They are expecting a party. He knows that is not what will happen … for them, or for him.
He turns to them and says words that seem to make everything we believe in turn upside down. Jesus is NOT family friendly for those who would follow him. He declares that we must choose following him above everything else. It is not an easy road. We must be prepared to give up our families, everything we love … even our own lives if we truly want to be his disciple.
This is one of those passages that is often overlooked in our happy little worlds. We want the family to be the most important thing in a Christian’s life, but Jesus knows that loving our family more than anything else, means that we leave him behind. Loving ourselves more than anything else … being more concerned about our health and well-being, our future, our fortune, our homes, our lawns, our success, our failures, our workplace, our friends than anything else. All of these things separate us from him.
It doesn't matter how many Bible studies we host or teach or attend - or how often we read scripture, or how much money we give to the poor or how often we go to church or all of the things we do; Jesus asks us to truly count the cost and understand what is required for us to be a disciple.
We do not understand the depth of this in our culture today. Christianity is much too easy and we have created a simplistic attitude toward it. Imagine being given the choice of sacrificing your child or your faith. Which would you choose? Do you even realize that these choices are being made around the world today? In this passage, Jesus is VERY clear regarding what the cost is to be his disciple.
“Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
We can’t pretty this up and make it go away. Jesus is clear about the cost of discipleship and when we feel as if we have done enough or sacrificed enough … he asks us to do more and to sacrifice more.
Tasteless salt is useless … we are useless as Christians unless we are willing to be everything for Jesus Christ.
This is a difficult lesson and one that is nearly impossible for us to understand, much less live. But, we must always be aware that we are not ever doing enough for the cause of Christ. He demands everything from us, we give so little.
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