“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?” (Luke 14:28, NIV)
You’ve heard it and so have I: “Golf is expensive.” To which the most accurate response is probably this: It depends how much you play.
Golf has its costs, from equipment to lessons to greens fees or membership. If you want to participate, you’re going to make some level of financial commitment. But I don’t find this to be less true with other sports. They, too, come with costs. And the more involved you become, the more those costs add up.
Apart from the fiscal outlay, you may also commit significant time to developing your game. Great athletes don’t just walk on and win. They work hard. So hard, in fact, that many players decide it just isn’t worth all the effort to play at the highest levels. They move on to other things.
What about a life of following Jesus? Is there a cost to that as well?
Jesus spoke of his followers hating their families and carrying their crosses. This was as serious as it gets.I wish I could tell you again that the answer to these questions is a variable one. I wish I could say that the cost depends on how involved you want to be—a little bit of Jesus one day, a little more the next, then maybe a day off or two. But Jesus never presented that option. Following him was going to cost a lot. Maybe even your life.
In Luke 14, we read Jesus’ Parable of the Great Banquet. He told the story of man who prepared a wonderful feast, then sent his servant to bring the guests. Then this: “But they all alike began to make excuses.” Jesus went on to identify some of the excuses, and I have to say that they were pretty good—you know, work and family obligations, the stuff of a responsible life.
Yet on the heels of this parable, Jesus pressed harder. He spoke of his followers hating their families and carrying their crosses. This was as serious as it gets. But Jesus let the crowds know that this was no different than other big endeavors where we first consider the cost. Why? Because following Jesus would also require something of those who did it. In fact, it would require much, thanks to the depth to which one’s life is changed once Jesus lays hold of it. That change will take you places you never imagined. In the end, it will take you to the most wonderful place of all: eternal life with Jesus himself. But along the way, there may be heavy costs exacted, and Jesus never wanted us to be ignorant of this possibility.
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Jeff Hopper
November 13, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Followers of Jesus 1: Leaders and Followers
Followers of Jesus 3: Footsteps of Faith
Followers of Jesus 4: Jesus’ Voice
Followers of Jesus 5: In the Light
Followers of Jesus 6: Away from Temptation
Followers of Jesus 7: Away from False Teaching