The Cost of NON-Discipleship! - Luke 14




When you read through the gospels, you will often hear Jesus talk about the "cost of discipleship".  A disciple is someone who is a follower of Jesus.  What does Jesus mean when Jesus says there is a cost to following him?  What is it and how do I calculate the cost before following?  

 The Cost of Being a Disciple
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.
The first thing we notice is that there were large crowds following Jesus.  Jesus' popularity was gaining rapidly and it was an opportune time for Jesus to explain what it would mean to be his follower.   So how might we summarize what it means to be a follower of Christ.
1. A follower of Jesus puts him first.  Though there are many other important relationships that Jesus upholds in our lives, we need to prioritize our relationship with him.  When Jesus says, "Whoever does not hate his mother or father, wife and children, or brothers and sisters cannot be my disciples", I don't think he means this literally.  We know that because on many other occasions he teaches us how important it is to honor, love and respect these relationships in our lives.  Yet, he also realizes that in unfortunately these relationships can actually get in the way of our relationship with him.  
2. A follower of Jesus must carry their own cross.  This Holy Week we journey to Good Friday where Jesus LITERALLY carried his own cross to a hill called Golgotha.  So what does it mean for us to carry our cross?  The cross was Jesus' surrendering his whole life to His Father.  Jesus "picked up his cross" as he made a decision to obey God's will for him to be crucified for the sins of the world. 
We all have different crosses to bear.  There will be times in our lives where we will have to intentionally give something up in order to follow Jesus.  We will need to surrender our wills and say like Jesus, "Not my will but yours be done." 
3. Finally, Jesus gives two illustrations of how we need to count the cost to following him.  The crowds who followed him showed up with mixed motives.  Many thought Jesus was going deliver them from the Romans.  Others were just watching him to see what he would next.  Some were wondering if he was really the Messiah?  Jesus makes it clear that following him will cost them something.  Their lives. 
While we often talk about the cost of discipleship.  There is also a cost of "non-discipleship".  What does it mean if we choose not to follow him?  Though following Jesus is not easy, nothing worthwhile in this life is.  Following Jesus is an opportunity of a lifetime.  He has made it available to all people.  
Jesus makes an incredible promise to those who believe in him and follow him.  They will experience "abundant life".  They will experience what it really means to live.  They will experience what they were made to do.  They will experience a relationship with God the Father filled with love, hope and peace.
As we enter Holy Week on this Palm Sunday, take time this week to think about the cost of following Jesus, or rather the cost of not following him.  Jesus has offered you abundant life both here on this earth and in heaven to come.  May God bless you this holy week in this time of trial we are all going through remembering that next Sunday on Easter we will shout, "He is Risen!"


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