Worth the Cost
The first person said, “Jesus, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
“I have no place to sleep.” Jesus reminded. He spoke truth, during His earthly ministry Jesus had no home. We come to this fact, following Jesus may not be comfortable.
The second person said, “I’ll follow you after the funeral.”
It was his father’s. Jesus said, “Leave the funeral…Go and declare to all you meet who God is.” Jesus wasn’t being unkind or heartless. Here’s another fact-Jesus calls us to put Him first.
The third person said, “But I have to say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus said, “Don’t go back.” Jesus wasn’t heartless in this case either. He was showing us the holiness of God…reminding us to have no other Gods…but Him. Jesus calls for our whole hearted, complete following. This is the third fact- there are no “buts” in following Jesus
“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””
Luke 9:57-62
Is following Jesus is worth the cost?
Aren’t possessions, family, friends…more worthy? It depends on how we look at life. This is the ultimate fact-Jesus is greater
Think of it-He is God! Earlier in the book of Luke, Jesus spoke plain words which apply to these three people who interacted with Jesus. In these earlier words, Jesus called us to “take up our cross.” These are His words:
“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?”
Luke 9:23-25
Jesus knows what we need…far better than we know ourselves. He knows all about life beyond this life. Don’t be concerned about the price of going after Him…
Follow Jesus.
He’s worth the cost.