Jesus knew it would be difficult to follow Him in the reprobate world we are living in. Rather than “patting us on the head” and telling us we are so sweet and God loves us so much that He’ll protect us from having to make serious, life-disrupting decisions…instead, He tells would-be disciples they had better count the cost of making Him Lord before they sign up:
8 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? (Luke 14)
When it comes to being a disciple of Christ, Jesus does not mince words. We’re either “all-in” or we’ve decided we are going to be lord of our lives. When the Apostle Peter decided he would be lord, Jesus responded: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.” (Matthew 16:23) Jesus tells us to “first sit down and calculate the cost…first sit down and consider.” My prayer for you and me this morning is this: Lord, we need a ‘wake-up” call today. While we often find ourselves lackadaisical when it comes to Your lordship in our lives, we find You are not lackadaisical…You are exacting and direct. Today, we pray for the kind of focus and surrender needed to be Your disciples. We’ve counted the cost. We want to be entirely Yours. Amen.