CONNECTING POINT: Count the Cost

If you’ve ever built a home or embarked on a major home remodel project, I bet you’ve crunched the financial numbers to see if you can make ends meet. Recently, the cost of goods and services, especially construction supplies, has spiked. One thing is for certain: No one generally sets out to start a project only to abandon it halfway through the process. Sometimes, this occurs either for economic reasons or personal reasons. An interesting example is the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. in 1987. Construction began as this magnificent structure would be one of the world’s tallest buildings; the unique pyramid skyscraper would have 3,000 rooms and five restaurants. To this day, the building remains unoccupied and unfinished. Why? The cost is too great.

In Luke 13, Jesus describes a similar scenario long before this hotel was built, all to make the valid point about being one of His disciples. “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them he said: ‘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. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 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? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” (Luke 14:25-30).

The principle conveyed is that following Jesus must be met to follow through, no matter the cost. Greek mathétés is the word we know as disciple, meaning learner or student. Please understand the difference between salvation and discipleship. Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is a free gift, at no cost on our part. Jesus paid our debt of sin. Discipleship comes after initial salvation and is the lifelong learning process of following Jesus as our example. This is why counting the cost gets real.

First: If we are to follow Jesus as His disciples, then Jesus becomes priority number one. Jesus’s opponents often point to this text as “hate speech” without understanding the context, painting Jesus in a negative light. Jesus spoke to people in Aramaic, not Greek. Hate is saneh, which is better understood as a sense of prioritization. In English, we consider hate a strong dislike or intense hostility. Following Jesus was never intended to place him as second best.

Second: Following Jesus requires carrying your cross. Again, His words are meant to capture listeners' attention, a hyperbole that emphasizes the abandonment of self-interest and full commitment to sacrifice. In American culture, the cross is more associated with religion; however, in first-century Jewish culture, a cross was known for one thing: death. Roman authorities used a cross as a form of torture, humiliation, and death.

Bible scholar Wiliam Barclay said, “It is possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple, to be a camp-follower without being a soldier.” Are you willing to count the cost?