Total Commitment

Are we willing to carry our cross? Have we counted the cost of discipleship? Are we willing to make the sacrifice? Let’s examine our cross, our cost and our sacrifice as disciples in Luke 14:25-33.

Our Cross

Luke 14:25-27 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

Hate is a strong word. Love for human family and even self ought to seem like hate compared with our love for God. No earthly love can be allowed to become an idol replacing God. Discipleship is open to those willing to bear their cross, focusing on self-sacrifice, not possessions.

Did Jesus contradict his command to love our neighbor as ourselves, even family? Is allegiance to him above that of family and self? In context, the word “hate” expresses our moral obligation to Jesus above all others, even self. Jesus redirects loyalties to what is eternal above what is temporal.

Our Cost

Luke 14:28-30 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

Observation towers in vineyards still exist. Ancient city walls also contained watch towers. If thinking of becoming a Christian, then counting the cost beforehand is important. What will we do if family or personal desires pressure us to be lukewarm or even quit? Will we be faithful to the end?

The tower analogy is building a disciple’s life. Jesus wants us to seriously consider the cost. Morally, discipleship includes willingness to give some things up, the opposite of materialistic false gospels. Symbolically, family resources and our own strength cannot finish the job. We must rely on heaven to help us.

Our Sacrifice

Luke 14:31-33 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

In man-to-man combat, those willing to die are more likely to succeed and live. Wartime leaders take counsel from a wide variety of advisers. Good disciples surround themselves with formal and informal mentors with experience and wisdom. Fidelity to Christ means being always ready to place everything else behind us.

Those early disciples did literally abandon family and businesses to follow Jesus. By analogy, we are at war against evil and must be committed to Jesus above material distractions. Morally, being overwhelmed with materialism blinds us to the spiritual battle for our souls. Prophetically, the kingdom belongs to the faithful.

Are we willing to be clay in the potter's hand? (Jeremiah 18:1-11) God knows us inside and out and wants to bless us more than we imagine. (Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18) Paul prodded Philemon to emancipate his slave. Are we called to emancipate the whole world? (Philemon 1:1-21)

Are we willing to carry our cross? Are we willing to pay the cost of discipleship? Are we willing to sacrifice everything for Jesus? Christianity is nothing without carrying our cross, counting the cost and total commitment.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.