The Cost of Discipleship

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25-33

To follow Jesus Christ, we must consider the cost and make Him Lord.

Salvation is absolutely free and yet it costs you your very life. Sounds paradoxical. You receive it freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it, you have just committed everything you are to Jesus Christ. You may think, “That’s a contradiction! How can something be both free and costly at the same time?”

Suppose I had a desire to climb Mount Everest. But it costs about $100,000 to do it and I don’t have that kind of money. Suppose a wealthy businessman heard of my desire and offered to pay for the whole expedition. He would purchase all the expensive clothing and gear; he would pay for my transportation, the guides, and the training. It’s totally free for me. But if I accept his free offer, I have just committed myself to months of rigorous training. It could even cost me my life, because many good climbers die trying to climb Mount Everest. It’s free, yet very costly.

Or, suppose a pilot offers me a free ride in his airplane. He invites me to come along at his expense. When I accept his free offer, I’ve just committed my life to him. If he’s a good pilot and we have no weather or mechanical problems, then I’ll be safe. If he crashes, I die. But the moment I say yes to his free offer, I am totally committed to him. I have entrusted my life into his hands.

You receive salvation freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it, you have just committed everything you are and have to Jesus Christ.  Your life is no longer your own; you have been bought with a price, and that price was the precious shed blood of Jesus. You made Him Lord of your life. As a true disciple, follow the teachings of Jesus completely, and give Him first place in your life.