Luke 14:25-35 — Spiritual Budgeting

READ THIS: Luke 14:25-35

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? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

In this passage, Jesus gives us one of the most important messages He’s ever given about following Him: before you say yes to something, you must know the cost! He gives a few examples of this… first with someone building a tower and a king preparing for battle. Both of these people wouldn’t be very smart if they attempted to do their task without first asking themselves if they were prepared for what it would cost them! The tower-builder could be left with no money or supplies and half a tower, and the king could have been defeated if he sent 10,000 men to fight 20,000!

But what does this have to do with our walk with Jesus? What Jesus is trying to tell us here is that if we really want to follow Him, we have to know what it may cost us before we really say yes! Jesus calls His followers to be willing to lay down their entire lives for His glory and His sake, and that is a lot easier said than done. A follower of Jesus that isn’t truly willing to give up all they have for Him is kind of like salt that isn’t salty anymore… what’s the point of it? Jesus is telling us that a REAL follower of Jesus, a REAL disciple, is someone who is willing to give up everything for Him, just like He did for us on the cross!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Do you think it is an easier task to live for Jesus or to die for Jesus? Why?

2. Why is important to know the cost of following Jesus before you say yes?

TRY THIS:

For the next three days, keep track of exactly how much money you and/or you family spends together. If you aren’t paying attention, you can quickly realize just how much you spend without realizing it! Let that remind you that making the choice to follow Jesus is something that has a cost and that it is something you want to know the cost of!

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