Count The Cost
Luke 14:28-30 (ESV)
‘For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
When I first started building a relationship with Jesus as a teenager, I was full of passion. I was surrounded by my Christian friends and, on Sunday, I was excited, charged up and ready to run into school on Monday morning declaring from the top of my lungs 'Prepare the way of the Lord!' Come Monday morning, however, and the once zealous heart now more closely resembled a deflated balloon. 'What had gone wrong?' I asked myself as I wrestled with the desire to share the life-giving friendship I had with God. Slowly it became easier to let the passions and distractions of the world into my heart than it was to let my passion for God out. So for years I hid the light God had given me. Until some time later, the Holy Spirit graciously fanned the flame in my heart and that oh so familiar passion came back. However, this time, there was a reminder attached – ‘Have you counted the cost?’
Jesus Christ counted the cost: he died and rose again to take our place and pay the seemingly impossible price of our sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and he paid for our sin – past, present and future, so we no longer have to be condemned to death. Now, we can choose to accept that truth and live life with and in Jesus. He counted the cost and, on that cross, said 'yes.'
In this passage we are reminded that we, too, have a cost to count: the cost of surrendering our lives to God, living for him and not ourselves. If we don't count the cost, we may focus only on what we want God to give us, and not on the life He calls us to – a life of surrender and service. The beauty is, in that surrender, we gain true freedom.
As you prepare your heart to be filled with his glory, ask yourself - have I counted the cost?
Prayer — Dear Lord, thank you for paying the ultimate price – the price of my freedom. Thank you that I am now free to love you and choose you daily. Lord, help me to count the cost and be reminded that your gifts are not the goal. I surrender to a life of sacrifice, worshipping and serving you in all I do.