“…Don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?” (Jesus speaking, Luke 14:28, NLT).
Yesterday I told you about the house under construction that crumbled to the ground uncompleted because the man who started it didn’t have enough money to finish the project. I also brought out how the same verse printed above can be applied not only to that house, but to marriage. Marriage isn’t a commitment a person should enter into without serious consideration – he or she should be ready to stick with it for the long haul.
I also said that, even though marriage is a lifetime commitment, God does forgive divorce. And we should also realize that many people become divorced through no fault of their own – they’re strictly the injured parties.
What other commitment can we apply this verse to? In Luke 9:59-62 we see Jesus calling a man to be His disciple. The man accepts Jesus’ offer of discipleship, then tells Him, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father” (Luke 9:59, NLT).
What was Jesus’ response? “Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60b, NLT).
Was the Lord being unfeeling? No. The man’s statement was an excuse. Scholars believe the man’s father was alive and probably well. What the man was saying is, “Yes, Lord, I’ll follow you – but not until my father is no longer living.” He mouthed a commitment, but his actions proved his words were insincere.
In this same passage, a second man also agrees to follow Jesus. But he, too, says he has something he needs to do “first” (Luke 9:61). Jesus replies: “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
Some people misunderstand this statement, thinking it means that if a believer messes up, as in “looks back,” he’s booted out of the Kingdom. This isn’t what Jesus was saying. Both of the men in this passage were being OFFERED the opportunity to BECOME disciples of Jesus Christ. Both men verbally COMMITTED to becoming disciples, yet both men’s ACTIONS proved them otherwise.
If you promised to drive your child to school, would you drive halfway and then decide, “OK, he can walk from here?” If you were hired to work Monday through Friday, would you work all five days or just the days that you “felt like it?”
Has the Lord called you to be His disciple? If you’ve accepted Him as Lord and Savior, that’s exactly what you’ve COMMITTED to. Lip service doesn’t make you His – it’s your follow-through that is PROOF of your COMMITMENT. Be faithful. You know what “the cost” was to Jesus.
“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” (Vince Lombardi)
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