The Cost and Reward of Following Jesus

This morning I am reading from Luke 14:25-30 NIV:

[25] "Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: [26] “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. [27] And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

[28] “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? [29] For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, [30] saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

I was thinking about how different Jesus is than pretty much any man that has ever lived. Here we find large crowds following Him, and rather than encourage them, or trying to use the crowd to His advantage, He issues some very strong challenges. He wasn't worried about popularity, about their feelings, or their agreement, He was worried about their souls.

These verses represent another set of verses that most of us would rather not read, for they challenge our thinking about our lives and our commitment to the Lord. We would like to believe that following Him, truly being one of His disciples, is easy, and does not require much effort or sacrifice. In the relational paradigm of the Kingdom, these words challenge us, so it is important to understand what Jesus was saying, and why.

First, putting these statements in a historical context, He knew what was likely going to be the fate of His followers, as He understood His life would ultimately end on the cross. He was looking for those followers who would put Him first in their life, because to do so could mean their death. The Lord couldn't build the Body of Christ upon anyone but those fully committed to following Him.

Secondly, He talks about taking up our cross and following Him. This statement is a direct indication of the cost of following Him, that it would lead to sacrifice, and in most of the Apostles cases - martyrdom. For Jesus to say anything else, would have been less than true, and He is the Truth. He knew, from conversations with the Father, that there would persecution and difficulty for His followers, so He told them that would be the case. He valued the truth over popularity.

Finally, these verses should help us evaluate and set our priorities in our life. I think of this as the back side of the chief commandments. He said we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, that is the first great commandment. To love God first, means all other loves in our life must take a secondary position. Nothing can come before God. This is very challenging to many of us, for in many of our lives our faith is an optional extra. While the Lord is for any step we take towards Him, we must know that His call is a invitation to abandonment unto Him. The call is for us all, our experience will be a journey of deepening relationship, but the destination is the same for us all, Him.

So, let us not become fearful of what we lay aside, but let us look to Him and all that we gain in Him. He is the great reward. He does love us, has a plan for us, and its for our ultimate fulfillment and eternal joy. Amen!