READ: Ruth 1,2; Psalm 116; Luke 14:25-35
SCRIPTURE: Luke 14: 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
OBSERVATION: In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus starts with a hyperbole (to emphasis his point, not to take it's literal meaning) to explain the cost of being his disciple. In this passage, Jesus highlights three important things to be a disciple of Jesus Christ: 1) Loving Jesus more than any other persons, 2) Carrying the cross (daily), 3) Willingness to give-up everything for Christ' sake. Jesus says that a person who wants to build a tower would estimate the cost first, and a king who prepares his army for a battle would think about the strength of his army as compare to his enemy. Here, Jesus does not discourage a person to become his disciple. Rather, he encourages every one to be his disciple. A person who has not enough money and strength would not go for a building project and a war respectively. “In the same way,” those who consider their strengths and power cannot be Jesus' disciples. He expects that those who want to become his disciples should be ready to give up everything to follow him. Counting the cost here does not imply whether we are capable or worthy to follow Christ. It places a challenge in front of us: are we ready for an absolute surrender to Christ?
APPLICATION: As a disciple of Jesus, I need to seek first God and his kingdom than anything else. This doesn't mean that I should hate my family and relatives. It shows my priority to God. To follow Jesus, I should be ready to carry the cross i.e. to pay the price for it. A Christian life without the cross is a life without Christ. I must be willing to submit my all to Christ, keeping nothing for my own sake. Like Paul, "whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ," I want to say and to live, for Christ.
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