Luke
14:26-33
How
important is being a Christian to you?
Do you try to live a righteous life?
Are you careful not to cuss? Do
you pray every day for those living around you?
Do you avoid your old lifestyle, stay away from bars and dance
clubs? Are you striving to pay your
tithes, make it to church every Sunday, sing in the choir or serve in some
capacity? I could go on and on listing
things that most Christians strive to do or avoid but I think you get the
picture. These are things we associate
with being a Christian: a disciple of
Christ. They are important, for sure,
but are not really that important to the Lord.
Remember, He does not look at our actions as much as what motivates our actions (1 Sam.
16:7).
(26)
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate
his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative
disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise]
his wife and children and brothers and sisters—[yes] and even his own life
also—he cannot be My disciple. Whoever
does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after (follow) Me cannot be
My disciple.”
I
love how the Amplified Bible states that “hate” is to have “indifference to or relative disregard…in comparison with his attitude
toward God”. The best example we
have of this is in Jesus. When he was
speaking to a group of people it was announced to Him that Him mother and
brothers were waiting outside to speak to Him.
What was His response? “Who is My mother, and who are My
brothers? And stretching out His hand
toward [not only the twelve disciples but all] His adherents, He said, Here are
My mother and My brothers. For whoever
does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother!”
Matt. 12:48-50. Now did Jesus actually
hate his mother and brothers? No, but He
held His Heavenly Father’s will as supreme and of more importance.
God
wants preeminence in our lives. He wants to be the only focus for our
lives. He has a plan for each of our lives
and He knows we cannot and will not follow it unless we are looking to Him for
directions (Jeremiah 29:11). If you
really want to be a Christian, a disciple of Christ, then you need to have the motivation to act like one. You can go around doing all the right things,
saying all the right things, and acting the right way but still be going
straight to hell. Remember God looks on
the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).
Motivation
is the first consideration in being a disciple of Christ but you have to
consider just what it will cost you to go through with what motivates you.
(28-30)
“For which of you, wishing to build a
farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether
he has sufficient means to finish it?
Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete
[the building], all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him, Saying, This
man began to build and was not able (worth enough) to finish.”
I
have observed believers who believed God wanted them to go into full-time
missions. Then they sold all they had to
fund their training and then worked hard to raise funds to go to a place they
felt called to. When they arrived there
they worked so hard in sometimes severe conditions to share the gospel. When they came home to the United States
on sabbatical they decided to not return because they were “burned-out”. I have also observed some missionaries who,
when they returned on sabbatical, spent their whole time going from church to
church not just to raise money but to raise awareness and prayer support for
the people they are working with.
Instead of being “burned-out” they were infused with joy, enthusiasm and
energy. What was the difference? The first type of believers went into the
mission field unprepared. They had not
counted what it would cost them emotionally and spiritually. They had not continued to check in with God
as to what HE wanted them to do and where HE wanted them to go. The second type of believers went knowing
there would be hard times and severe conditions but they had a plan ahead of
time to keep focused on God for themselves, knowing that if they became weak
spiritually they would not be effective witnesses of the Gospel.
(31-32) “Or
what king, going out to engage in conflict with another king, will not first
sit down and consider and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand
[men] to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if he cannot [do so], when the other king
is still a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks the terms of peace.”
Being
a disciple has a cost, and more often than not the cost is severe. I shared a story in January from Kyle
Idleman’s book “Not a Fan” that shows this more clearly:
“A few years ago I was pretty deep into some
tribal areas of Africa. One night I finished preaching a message to a
crowd of a few dozen people. I presented
the gospel and the invitation of Jesus to follow him. There were two young men, probably in their
twenties, who accepted Christ and committed to follow him. The following afternoon these two men showed
up at the house where we were staying.
They each carried a good sized bag over their shoulder. I went over and asked the local missionary we
were staying with why they were here. He
explained that these two men would no longer be welcomed by their families or
in their village. When I heard that, I
was afraid that maybe this was going to be more than they would be willing to
go along with. About that time the
missionary said to me, ‘They knew this would happen when they made the
decision’.
They were choosing Jesus over their families. They were choosing Jesus over their own
comfort and convenience, and fans don’t do that.”
Followers are willing to deny themselves and say,
‘I choose Jesus. I choose Jesus over my
family. I choose Jesus over money. I choose Jesus over career goals. I am his completely. I choose Jesus over getting drunk. I choose Jesus over looking at porn. I choose Jesus over a redecorated house. I choose Jesus over my freedom. I choose Jesus over what other people may
think of me.’ A follower makes a
decision every day to deny himself and choose Jesus…even if it costs
everything,” (“not a fan”, pg 145).
(33)
“So then, any of you who does not forsake
(renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot
be My disciple.”
To
follow Christ has its costs, sometimes severe costs, but the joys and
fellowship we enjoy with God and other believers far outweigh the costs. I know that I would never give up all the hard
times I went through so far in my life if it meant I would have to give up
Jesus. There is a song I like to sing
that says it best:
You
may ask me why I serve the Lord.
Is it just for heaven's gain?
Or to walk the mighty streets of gold,
And to hear the angels sing?
Is it just to drink from the fountain
That never will run dry.
Or just to live forever, ever and ever
In the sweet ol' by and by.
But if heaven never was promised to me
Neither God's promise to live eternally
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
He brought me the light.
If there were never any streets of gold,
Neither a land where we'll never grow old,
It's been worth just having the Lord in my live
Living in a world of darkness
He brought me the light.
He's been my closest friend all through the years.
And every time I cry, He dries my tears.
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
He brought me the light.
By Andre Crouch
(c) 1973, Bud John Songs, Inc.
Is it just for heaven's gain?
Or to walk the mighty streets of gold,
And to hear the angels sing?
Is it just to drink from the fountain
That never will run dry.
Or just to live forever, ever and ever
In the sweet ol' by and by.
But if heaven never was promised to me
Neither God's promise to live eternally
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
He brought me the light.
If there were never any streets of gold,
Neither a land where we'll never grow old,
It's been worth just having the Lord in my live
Living in a world of darkness
He brought me the light.
He's been my closest friend all through the years.
And every time I cry, He dries my tears.
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
He brought me the light.
By Andre Crouch
(c) 1973, Bud John Songs, Inc.