More Than You Can Afford

I have been writing The Jesus Stories for the last three years. Following his life in an orderly, sequential way, I am concentrating on understanding Jesus through everything he said and did. My reference is Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and sometimes Paul. It is harder than I thought it would be. We Jesus followers sometimes pick and choose the Jesus we want to follow. We spend lots of time reading his words we like, and we gloss over, or heck, entirely skip over the stories we don’t. This is one of those stories. I wrote this two weeks ago and low and behold Dr. Youssef preached on it this morning. Pulling it out of my ongoing manuscript, I share it with you today. Sometimes it is good to wrestle with the hard things.

“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. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26-27 ESV

First Read Luke 14:25-35.

If you want to be discouraged, here’s your chance. If you want a good reason to throw your hands up and walk away, read these biting words and give up. What Jesus teaches is pretty much impossible. The cost to be his disciple is too high.

There are great crowds following him. He turns and speaks to them as if intending to make them turn back. Take any of these challenges and see if you want to accept them. I don’t. Hate my own father and mother, my husband and children? My brother? My sister? And even this; my own life? Turn away from all these relationships to follow the difficult path of this controversial prophet?

But he isn’t done with his challenges. We who live in our own century know that this Jewish Jesus was on a fast track to a Roman cross – the most perfected form of tortuous death; his listeners at that moment did not. So, he wasn’t kidding when he told them unless they carried the weight of their own cross and followed him to be crucified, they could not be his disciple. I am sorry but count me out. I am hoping for the easy life where I simply die in my sleep. The thought of metal spikes going into my hands and my feet completely repulses me. Hanging naked, exposed for all to see, humiliated, despised, spit upon, cursed, unable to breathe, no thank you if I have the choice.

He continues, and I think we are entering into the point he is making. There will be a cost. A cost to follow him. And it will not be cheap. Our own religious Christian leaders are fond of offering free grace; easy salvation. Just say yes. Just accept their invitation. Just say the prayer. Jesus says something very different here. Count the cost; consider what you are choosing carefully.

I have not built a tower, but I have assisted my husband in rebuilding our house. It has been a long endeavor. It started when we went to visit our friends Dan and Kevin. They had bought a little house in the neighborhood nearby. They were mid-construction, yet they had torn out the rotting wood wall and put in a stone fireplace. Some paint and new flooring. They were not very handy, yet they had done all of this. You can too, they encouraged us.

We found our own neglected house and celebrated home ownership with champagne and a sledgehammer. We broke through the walls; we pried off pinewood paneling. We used a crowbar to remove rusted nails and crumbling brick. We climbed into the attic and pulled out the insulation one hot summer night and pushed through the ceiling. We cut holes in the roof for skylights. We tore ancient tile off bathroom walls, hauled out bathtubs that weighed a million pounds, replaced the hot water heater and the dishwasher, dumping water across the cracked and broken linoleum floors. We scraped up glued-down carpet. We spent days and weeks sanding mud off newly hung sheetrock. Long after Dan and Kevin had finished their house, broken up and moved on, we were still working. I thought we would never finish. Our house now roofed not only us but two children and a dog and a pair of sister cats. We needed more bedrooms, another bathroom, and a family room. We had laid a strong foundation, but our house was not complete. We had more to do. I sometimes wondered if we would have ever started if we had known the cost in money and effort and time.

Somewhere along the way, I began to see our house as an analogy. We had started on our own strength. But we could have never been enough, we could have never completed it without the strength and provision of God. God entered into our lives, into our house, into our home. He provided secure, long-lasting careers for both of us, keeping the money coming in to build additional rooms under new roofs. He orchestrated an unusual long-term relationship with the county’s Chief Building Inspector who supported our slow progress and overturned denials by his inspectors. God designated our house as a meeting place for bible studies and small dinners and enough bedrooms and sofas for extended family and college students attending Christian events. God took what we had started, not understanding the cost, and He finished what we naively had begun.

Perhaps this is what Jesus means. If we plan on following him, there will be a cost. Nothing is free, right? Someone must pay for anything, everything of value. What Jesus offers is very, very valuable. It is a tower on a hill, for all to see. It is a battle against a more powerful foe. It is a matter of life or death. Are you willing to meet the enemy knowing there will be blood shed? Are you willing to give up what you are holding onto for what could lie ahead? It will not be easy. Jesus is not easy.

His way is through the narrow gate. It is the road less taken. For good reason. He is a man with a mission. He is building a Holy Kingdom for the King, and he is the foundation, the cornerstone. He is fighting a battle against the enemy whose only purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. He is negotiating peace with his own blood; he is defeating death with his own tears. Those who choose to follow him cannot be holding on to the preferences of their father and mother, sister and brother. They may find themselves at odds with their own spouse, their own child. They cannot be hindered or delayed.

What is holding you back from following? Many people who have thought to follow have their own requirements, their own demands for this God named Jesus. Jesus does not follow the crowd. He is not interested in public opinion. Or yours, to be blunt. Examine your heart. Examine your thoughts. Examine your motives. Have you faltered? Have you pressed pause on the journey? Are you having second thoughts along the way? Are you waiting to see how things turn out before you make your final decision?

The cost may be too much for you. Your salt may have lost its saltiness. You may have lost your usefulness to fertilize the soil or to serve the Lord. Enter at your own risk. There will be a cost. Do you have ears to hear?