Today’s reading: Luke 14
More than once over the past couple of years I’ve told you I am an accounting dork. I naturally count and/or reconcile almost everything. It’s just how my mind works. I think this is why I like to go to the grocery store and figure out whether two 13 ounce boxes of Life Cereal at a 3/$5 price point is better than one 24.8 ounce box of Life Cereal for $4.29. In case you were wondering, this is a good value and is why you’ll often find multiple small boxes, instead of a few large boxes, of cereal in my pantry.
It should be no surprise to you that my focus for today is on the last section of our text in Luke 14 – “The Cost of Being a Disciple”. In verses 25-27, Jesus told the crowd that anyone who wanted to be his disciple had to be willing to hate his father, mother, wife, children, siblings and even hate himself. This sounds pretty harsh, and seems a little contradictory to be honest. If God is love, and he commands us to love others, it doesn’t really make sense that we are required to hate our loved ones to be his disciples.
As you know, Jesus wasn’t speaking in literal terms here. His message was all about priority. Let’s go back to the Old Testament where we find the same message. The first commandment God gave to Moses was, “You shall have no other God’s before me” (Exodus 20:3). God desires our first and our best. To say it another way, God doesn’t really want our time or our money, he wants us. That is why he made us in the first place. God desires for our hearts to be truly devoted to him. How we spend our time and how we spend our money then, are simply a natural reflection of what is in our hearts/what we value.
Now, will following Jesus cost us? Yes. Following Jesus requires us to give up control, it means that we submit to his will over our own. It may result in loss of social status or wealth. It may mean separation from family, persecution or even death. As you know, following Jesus is not the recipe for a trouble-free life. However, God never asks us to suffer just for the sake of suffering. He never asks us to give up something good unless he plans to replace it with something even better. He truly has our best interest in mind. I assure you, the benefit of an all-powerful God guiding your way, watching over you and offering you a place in eternity with him is definitely worth the cost!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).