Luke 14:25-35 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.’
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.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the
soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
The Cost – Are You Ready?
Remember, all along
these past few months, we’ve been walking along with Jesus in these Gospel
passages, as He travels toward Jerusalem, with His determination and face “set
like flint” to go to His death and crucifixion on the cross. All to say, this
is not what most people felt was His destination. Jesus has been teaching and
challenging, His disciples, His followers, and the crowds now surrounding Him
with a conviction and choices of Himself, God, or ourselves and this world.
Are you too, ready,
to go all the way with Jesus to Jerusalem and to death?
To be a disciple of
Jesus, means to be ready to place Jesus’ words above everything else in your life,
above family, above self, even above death.
To love the Lord
your God we are called to love Jesus. So, if any choice is needed, disciples
MUST choose Jesus. So, there it is; an in-your-face decision to make. Yes, it’s
true, God chooses you and gives you all you need. Likewise, you have a choice
to choose God over everything, or choose yourself and this world and turn and
run from what God has freely offered to you.
There is a shift in
teaching here from Jesus. A shift from Jesus’ close followers and His disciples,
toward a large crowd that has gathered before Jesus as he moves towards
Jerusalem.
In this teaching of
now even the large crowd, Jesus demands allegiance to Him. Jesus demands
allegiance to God and no-one else. So, there it is. To the point.
Verse 26 even
mentions hate. Hate in this case means to love less. To love less than others
in your life. To love stuff and self, less than anything else. Let’s turn to Matthew
10:37, and read or hear Jesus own words, to get a hint of this idea, thought
and definition…
Matthew 10:37 NIV
37 “Anyone who loves their
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son
or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
This “more than” gives us a hint at
the “love less” meaning.
When our earthly desires come up
against Jesus’ demands of the cross, and allegiance; we must crucify those
desires of ours. Yet, to carry the cross in allegiance to Jesus IS the JOY of
our lives.
Jesus’ death and resurrection, makes
the cross, life’s victory. Disciples must be ready to take up the cross and
follow Jesus. This IS the tough “stuff.”
The cross at the time of Jesus, was
common and cruel. It was no crueler than today’s wars, neglect, and hatred that
we demonstrate towards one another. Read the paper, look at the news, open your
eyes and look around. The world is a hateful, deathly place. We treat one
another with death on a cross all the time.
So, when we are called to be a
disciple, we must look at the cost of following Jesus AND decide to follow, or
run away, or watch from a distance, or just ignore it all.
Looking at Jesus’ words in verse 33, Jesus
tells us that if we don’t give up everything, we cannot be His disciples. Jesus
is harsh here and to the point. Here is a warning, YET and invitation as well.
We, you or I, are able to be disciples of Jesus. This is an invitation wrapped
in a warning.
As we read on, what is this “salt”
stuff about?
In Jesus’ time, salt saved meat from
spoil, AND, salt added taste to food. Through Jesus, we are blessed to be
forgiven, AND, in our lives, as disciples, we add the “zing” of Jesus salvation
to the world in which we live in. In this is the True Church, or followers of
Jesus with the dual grace, forgiveness and salvation to live with God in God’s
Kingdom for eternity.
So, in this salt, you too, as Jesus’ disciple
are ready to sacrifice ALL your stuff FOR Jesus.
Why?
Jesus has ALL truth, through ALL time.
However, if we don’t listen, how can we know this. SO, listen to the Word made
flesh. Listen!
In this listening, Jesus is fulfilled,
as the prophet of Isaiah foretold…
Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV
5 Then will the eyes of the
blind be opened
and the ears of the
deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout
for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the
desert.
So, there you have it.
There is a cost to discipleship. Are you ready? Are you willing?
God freely chooses you,
forgives you, gifts you with His Spirit, and calls you from your own selfish
actions and life to be made free to love and serve God and neighbor.
God’s Law and, Jesus harsh
challenges, WILL result in JOY. So, choose life, at a great cost. Are YOU
Ready? Respond!
I’ll leave you with this YouTube Music Video
that came to mind this week as I reflected…
“Love the Lord”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAbeFfsqLdc&list=RDEAbeFfsqLdc&start_radio=1
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