The Cost

"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple." ~Jesus Christ, circa 29AD

This quote is taken from The Message, Luke 14:33 and it really is about as clear cut a requirement as there can be on the cost of following Jesus. However, let's be honest...most of us in the USA don't actually believe Jesus would require our friends, bank accounts, jobs, houses, cars, 401k's, etc., right? C'mon! It's a metaphor or sorts, it has to be. I mean...I can find more popular books on building wealth, having a happy and prosperous life than on embracing material destitution as a follower of Jesus.

I can tell you from a page in my own life that I am being tested to the core on this. Furthermore, in my heart I am praying that He doesn't actually require it all. Look I am being honest here. I can type "the right" words but my humanity is being barbecued at the moment. If he chose to take it all, would I yet praise Him like Job? May I answer, "yes!" However, I am still working through this.

A bright spot in this post? Yes! I watched a movie recently where it was proclaimed that "there are no happy endings." If you hang around this life on earth long enough, it would seem at times this is a correct assumption. However, skip to the end of the story of Job and voilà...a happy ending! Point? It will cost us everything to follow Jesus. It won't always be comfortable here. In the end, there is a fabulous conclusion to the lives of those who follow Jesus.

It has been written that Mother Teresa said, "Riches, both material and spiritual, can choke you if you do not use them fairly. The result is uncontrollable dissatisfaction. Poverty is freedom, so that possessions don’t keep us from sharing or giving of ourselves."

Perhaps as we have our grasp on things pried open and we learn to let go of this life, we will find our anxieties giving way to unimaginable joy as we share what is most important.

thinking,
john