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 life itself—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.'
31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
My thoughts -
This is a tough message. I'm not sure I can afford the "cost" of following Christ.
I want to be comfortable. I want to be happy. I want to be loved. I want to fit in. I want to be surrounded by family and friends all the time. I want to be secure in this life.
Faith is the ability to give all of that up. Faith trusts God to take care of us in spite of what we may lose. Faith understands that the things in this life, however attached to them we may be, are fleeting and only God is eternal. Faith gives up temporary comfort for eternal peace.
What it seems like we may lose in this little calculus Jesus uses we gain eternally much, much more. I don't hate my family, I love them. But I also have faith and trust God beyond even my family. I can't care for them nor can they care for me nearly as well as God can care for all of us. I don't hate my life, I love it, and yet I understand that it is temporary. I will die. My loved ones will die. We don't get to keep this place or each other. I trust God both in this life and whatever is to come.
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