scripture reading: Luke 14:25–33

Counting the Cost

If you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye, you can’t be my disciple.                    (Luke 14:33, The Message)

Jesus never hid the cost of discipleship. He worked hard to make sure that everyone who desired to follow him had a clear understanding of what was involved. In Luke 14 he used two analogies to explain the importance of counting the cost before becoming a follower of Christ.

His first analogy was architectural. Who would begin construction of a building, Jesus asked, without first getting estimates on what it will cost and then determining if he has enough money to pay the bills. Otherwise, the incomplete building will stand as a monument to his foolishness for all to see (vv. 28–30).

The second analogy was a military one (vv. 31–32). What general would think of going to fight in a battle he couldn’t win? First, he needs to sit down and calculate whether his army is strong enough to face the enemy. Only then will he be ready to make the decision to go into battle or not.

Jesus’ message in these two analogies is clear: before you decide to follow him, first sit down and count the cost! C. S. Lewis helps us better understand what this means by a simple, yet profound, illustration.

When I was a child I often had [a] toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least, not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do some- thing else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain: but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists; I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie; if you gave them an inch they took an ell [an English linear measure equal to 45 inches].

Now, if I may put it that way, our Lord is like the dentists. If you give him an inch, he will take an ell. Dozens of people go to him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of or which is obviously spoiling daily life. Well, he will cure it all right: but he will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call him, he will give you the full treatment. That is why he warned people to “count the cost” before becoming Christians. . . . (Mere Christianity).

Are you considering becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ? Or perhaps you have attempted to make such a decision at some point in your past, but things are just not working out. Maybe the problem is this: you have not done what Jesus told you to do before even starting. You have not counted the cost. He has been open and honest with you about what is involved. You therefore must be open and honest with him.

The Gospel of Jesus is a revolutionary way of being revolutionary. Jesus fights and defeats evil by letting evil do its worst to him. And then, wonder of wonders, he calls us to do the same.
Those who seek to save their lives, lose them; only those who lose their lives, save them.  —Os Guinness

point to ponder • Before you became a Christian, did you sit down and count the cost? What difference did it make?

prayer focus • “You therefore must be open and honest with him.” Are you harboring a sin “ache” that you need to give to Jesus for “full treatment”?