Daily Devotionals
March 19, 2021
This is the fourth week of Lent, and all of the devotions are centered on the theme “The Cost of Discipleship.”
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? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
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? 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. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Luke 14:28-33
It seems like a simple suggestion, an analogy that most everyone can understand. You wouldn’t build a house unless you had enough money to finish it. So you would first figure that out by counting the cost. A king would not go to war against another king unless he knew he had enough troops to win. So he would count first before making the commitment. We are most likely not surprised that Jesus told His followers they should consider the cost of discipleship before making the commitment to Him.
But what exactly is that cost? Jesus told His followers the answer to that question: You must give up everything. Everything. A few chapters earlier in Luke 9 Jesus told his followers, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Taking up your cross means you are on your way to your death. When Jesus says “everything,” He means everything. Everything. We should consider carefully the cost of following Jesus.
I don’t think I’m able to give up everything. Yes, I would like to do it. I want to follow completely. But I know that I can’t live this verse, or at least I can’t fully live it. And that is the point. Jesus wants everything. But we aren’t able to give everything. So we will need help. We will need encouragement. We will need hope. We will need grace to live out this cost each day, growing bit by bit into His likeness. We will need grace indeed. And grace happens to be something He willingly, abundantly, lovingly gives to us. A never-ending supply of His grace covers the cost that is demanded but which we are unable to give. That is why it’s called “amazing grace.”
The cost is high. Very high. The cost is everything. But the abundance of grace for each one of us is even higher. What an incredible God we have!
For Reflection
What do you think it means to deny yourself and take up your cross? What does that look like for you?
When Jesus says that following Him will cost everything, are you willing to pay that price? How might you ask Him for the grace to move closer to what He demands?
Prayer
Lord, the price is high. I cannot pay it. Please help me to see those areas of my life where I do not give up everything, and then help me to give them all over to You. Please give me grace to meet the great need I have. Amen.
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