The 40 Day Journey - Day 14 (When to Count the Cost)

So I am still trying to understand Luke 14:25-35 and what is this "cost" all about in following Christ. Here is the bullet point version of this passage:

• We cannot be Christ's disciple unless we hate our family
• If we do not carry our own cross and follow Him we cannot be His disciple
• An example of someone wanting to build a tower, don't they sit down first and calculate the cost to see if they can complete it?  If they don't they will be ridiculed
• Parable of the king going to battle with 10,000 going up against 20,000, he sits down and takes counsel if they are strong enough or else to decide to send out a delegation and asks for terms of peace
• No one can be His disciple who does not give up all his own possessions
• Then it ends with this, "Salt is good, but if it becomes tasteless...it is useless"

These seem a little random to me, the thread that I thought was throughout was counting the cost and being prepared.  So my big question today was "when" do we count the cost?  It doesn't make sense to count the cost before becoming a believer. When Jesus called His disciples, He said "follow Me" and they dropped what they were doing and followed Him.  

So then do we count the cost after we become believers, but how do we even know the cost? I knew this is what I needed to talk to God about during our hour...if only I could be quiet long enough to hear His voice.

I was in Tacoma and was ready for my hour. I got in my car and asked God for a meeting place.  I felt like He was asking me for my ideal place.  I figured a cup of coffee by the water on this gorgeous day sounded perfect.  So I headed down to the Vashon Ferry Landing.

I parked and read through the Luke 14 passage, I looked up some of the Greek words and cross references.  Then I got out and stood by the water.  I always look for seals or dolphins or whales...I've seen an occasional seal and once some dolphins. I talked with God for awhile and asked Him to explain the "when" to me of this passage.  I then heard a very familiar sound, a high pitched whistling. I knew it was an eagle call and immediately looked around.  There were two eagles perched atop this flag pole.

I remembered reading that eagles stay together for life.  They are committed to one another.  Ah, is that what You are saying about this passage?  I don't need to worry about the when of counting the cost, but maybe what I need to understand is the full commitment God wants from me.

If we look at the verses, Christ wants us committed to Him above our family and our own life.  He wants us committed to finishing what He has started in us, to commit to the battle before us, to commit our earthly treasures.  And why does He want our full commitment?  Because salt is good. We are the salt of the earth, we are the flavor of Christ in this world.  And if salt loses its taste, what good is it?  It is useless.  If we are not fully committed to Christ, what good are we?  

Revelation 3:16 says "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."  Hot and cold water have great uses....lukewarm water is useless.  Commit to being fully hot or fully cold, be used for your intended purpose.

I asked Him several times if this is what He was showing me today, I thought through each of those bullet points above.  It seems to be right.  I stared at those eagles for a majority of the rest of our time together.  I really felt He was confirming this truth to me as I watched them.  Our time went by too quickly and I was off to attend to the rest of the day.

I picked up the kids and we went to watch some friends play soccer.  As we were leaving, Daniel picked up a torn section of a dollar bill and handed it to me.  I said, "Where is the rest?  This is useless."  And I just smiled and laughed. God said "Exactly."  It was a picture of the truth He was teaching me.  A partial dollar is useless, I might as well throw it out.  A partial commitment to the Lord, holding onto things of this world while trying to love God is useless.  He requires a full commitment.  And that is the cost to us.

I don't know that I fully understand this yet.  I have more days of being partially committed than fully committed, does that mean I have been useless?  What we need to understand is most of this section of scripture is a parable.  One of our pastors taught me that a parable is a story that is designed to make a point and draw out an intended response. (Thanks Pastor Reg!)

I don't want to dissect each piece unnecessarily. But what is the point of this portion of Luke 14? And what is the intended response?  What I think God wanted to clarify today for me is that no matter the cost, am I willing to be "all in"?  Will I be fully committed to following Jesus? Will He be above my family, my possessions, my comfort. 

I heard a new song, "Let Go" by Elevation Worship.  Some of the lyrics say:

Your love it better than anything this world has to offer, than anything this world has to give.  So I let go, I leave it all behind, let go - I'm taking up Your life, all for Your name, even if it costs me everything. I surrender all, I surrender all to Jesus, I surrender all.

And I guess that is it, that we may know there is nothing this world has to offer that is better than the love of Christ Jesus.  So I will surrender all, every day.  And maybe that is what being fully committed looks like.