The Cost

                Jesus. The very name stirs emotions. What does it cost to follow Him? Those of us who follow Jesus know the cost. In the event you do not know, I want to share with you the commitment that is made when one genuinely puts trust, faith, and love into a relationship with Christ. Before we look at the cost, let’s look at what isn’t following Christ.  

                First, attending a church is not following Christ. Church attendance is not a mandatory requirement for entry into Heaven. The Bible teaches that Christians should not forsake the fellowship of other believers during worship. A person can attend every service, die, and go straight to Hell because not once did they actually call on Jesus and know Him as Savior. That being said, so many people cling to the concept of religion when times are troubling only to throw their Bibles and Christian ideologies out when life goes their way.  So, what is the cost of following Christ? Everything, but nothing.

Luke 9:57-62

 ⁵⁷And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

 ⁵⁸And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

 ⁵⁹And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

 ⁶⁰Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

 ⁶¹And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

 ⁶²And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

                We see right away in verse 57 that a person pledged allegiance to Christ and said, “I’ll go wherever you go.” This is a spiritual and public profession to Christ. Yet, the Lord replies that he has nowhere to lay his head. Right away, we see that following Christ isn’t going to be easy.   Jesus speaks to another and we see quite a different response.

                When Christ chose his early disciples all He had to do was say, “Follow me.” After he did this, they followed. James and John even left their father. Yet, one man DID NOT FOLLOW. He spoke like so many people do today when they first hear and feel God, Christ, and The Holy Spirit.  He wanted to follow Christ, BUT there was something else pressing on his mind.

 Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

                All the man wanted was to stay and bury his dad. He showed he was willing to follow Christ on his own terms. The phrase bury my father may not have meant physically bury a body. Perhaps the man wanted to stay with his father until the man died per the 10 Commandments as to obey, but regardless of the reason, we have to remember that God wants us to come to him his way not on our own terms. We have one way to God; Jesus Christ is that one way. So how did Jesus respond to this seemingly innocent, decent request?

Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

                Jesus’ second half of the statement should be heard clearly. He said, “go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” How can we, or why do we go to a building, stand halfway humming a worship song, and listen to a sermon the whole time we are thinking about Monday, lunch, or whether or not there will be a game on Sunday in the fall? If we are Christians, we simply go and preach the kingdom.

            Another wanted to follow Christ, but he first wanted to say good-bye. Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

                Again, that isn’t a harsh request. But Jesus made it clear more than once THAT ANYONE WHO PUT ANYTHING OR ANYONE ABOVE HIM WAS NOT WORTHY TO BE HIS FOLLOWER. Here in Luke, this point is repeated. No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

                This statement is consistent with His teaching that the road to the kingdom is narrow and not many will find it. Does it mean that we all drop our jobs and run off to a dark country with nothing but the clothes on our backs and a Bible? No, it doesn’t, but what it does mean is that we have no excuse when it comes to serving God. When we hear His call, we answer. There is only one, correct answer. If we give Him any other answer or excuse why we can’t commit to Him, we are lying to ourselves. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is a loving, caring God that wants us to spend eternity with him, but He also is a jealous God that will not play second fiddle. The word fit means usable. With that understood, we have to understand that we give our all to God because he gave His all to us first.