Count the Cost
Luke 14:25-35
To follow Jesus we must first establish the priorities and secondly, we must count the cost. Look with me as to how Jesus illustrates this point. Suppose, Jesus says, one of you wants to build a tower over your vineyard so you can keep a lookout for thieves who might want to steal your harvest. Before you build, what is the first thing you will do? Will you not, he says, first sit down and estimate how much it will cost you to build the tower? It is a rhetorical; question and the answer is: "Yes! Yes, I will first count the cost." In today's language: If it doesn't pencil don't do it. You do not want to appear to be a fool by laying the foundation, running out of money, abandoning the project, and becoming the laughing stock of the community.
When Jesus told this story he was on his way to Jerusalem. All around him the crowds followed; they thinking they were on their way to an empire; he knowing the path led to a cross. What a contrast. I used to think that the crowds in the Bible followed Jesus because he was so wonderful. I later learned the tragic truth. So many followed for terribly wrong reasons. What they must then do, and so us, is sit down and take stock. Do we have the stamina to go the distance even if the finish line is death itself. That's the heart of the matter. Jesus wants the crowd to answer that question--each and every person must personally respond to that question.
Don't let it be said of you my dear friends: He began to build but he was not able to finish. She followed the teacher but she did not learn the lesson. He followed the Lord but he did not carry his cross. And that will bring us to the third point tomorrow!
Questions to Ponder
Have you counted the cost?
Have you taken stock as to what it really means to follow Jesus?
Are you willing to go the distance?
In His Service,
Terry Phillips
