What Have I Gotten Myself Into?
Luke 14:25-33 Common English Bible Discipleship’s demands
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them, he said, 26 “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. 30 They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’ 31 Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand soldiers could go up against the twenty thousand coming against him? 32 And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. 33 In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.
What Have I Gotten Myself Into? Have you ever asked yourself. “What have I gotten myself into?" Maybe after you purchased a home that needed way too much work, after starting a new job, after beginning a new relationship, or after committing to running in a race? When reading this scripture, I imagine some in the crowd following Jesus heard Jesus talk about the cost of being a disciple and must have thought, what did I get myself into? This Sunday, let's look at this scripture, let us count the cost, let's talk about what it means to pick up our cross daily. Following Jesus is serious. For some it might change our social status (think about who Jesus ate with), it may change our time management, where we live, how and who we serve. May we all reevaluate what it means to be a disciple this Sunday. We will also partake in Holy Communion this Sunday.
Pastor, Andy