The Gospel of Luke
This devotional is written by Rebecca Farrow. Rebecca watches plays, lots of plays. She likes Jesus, Milton and fun.
Luke 14:25-34
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 "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? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'
31 "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? 32 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. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 "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? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'
31 "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? 32 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. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
Reflection
Do you ever read this passage above and think?
Especially the part where Jesus says 'and anyone who does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple'; carrying a cross, that's hard and requires faith.
Have you ever felt that you have carried a cross?
It's a big question, but I think at some point we all have.
The cross we are to bear is Jesus's cross. It becomes ours when we trust in Jesus' resurrection.
I think that as I read this I start to think of difficult faith times in my life and the way the way that Jesus intervened, such as getting me out of a terrible job.
Sometimes it really is best to give up everything and give it to all to God-which is what I did in 2011. Looking back it was a time of opportunity that meant that 2012 was amazing. Going in the opposite way can be really hard but you start to see life from a wider perspective.
Being a disciple of Jesus is hard but we need to keep being topped up to remain the 'salt' in our society.
Maybe you too are in a difficult situation where you need God? Perhaps you need more Salt?
Ask God.
Especially the part where Jesus says 'and anyone who does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple'; carrying a cross, that's hard and requires faith.
Have you ever felt that you have carried a cross?
It's a big question, but I think at some point we all have.
The cross we are to bear is Jesus's cross. It becomes ours when we trust in Jesus' resurrection.
I think that as I read this I start to think of difficult faith times in my life and the way the way that Jesus intervened, such as getting me out of a terrible job.
Sometimes it really is best to give up everything and give it to all to God-which is what I did in 2011. Looking back it was a time of opportunity that meant that 2012 was amazing. Going in the opposite way can be really hard but you start to see life from a wider perspective.
Being a disciple of Jesus is hard but we need to keep being topped up to remain the 'salt' in our society.
Maybe you too are in a difficult situation where you need God? Perhaps you need more Salt?
Ask God.
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