Worth the Cost (Friday Devotional)

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

- Luke 14:27

I’m writing this to you from a beachside condo in Port Aransas, but as recently as Monday night, Lindsey and I still weren’t sure whether we’d wind up making this trip. We’d batted the idea around for weeks, but for a host of reasons we kept hesitating to pull the trigger.

For one thing, there was the cost to consider—even with us committing to bring groceries from home instead of eating out, beach trips for a family of four ain’t cheap. For another thing, getting to Port Aransas was going to mean a 14+ hour round trip in the car with two little kids who weren’t likely to sleep much, if at all, in their car seats. And then, speaking of the kids, there was the blunt reality that no trip with two children under the age of 3 is really a vacation—we’d be wearing ourselves out each day trying to keep them on track in an unfamiliar place and on a different schedule.

But here we are. And, it should be noted, all our reasons for hesitating held true. The beach condo wasn’t cheap. The trip here was long and exhausting. Our patience with the kids has been thin by the end of each day. But this morning, as I watched Lindsey and Andrew build a sandcastle while Katherine and I felt the waves lap up against our toes, I had no doubt: it was all worth it.

Our relatively trivial choice between staying home or heading to the beach has a few things in common with a much more important decision—whether to follow Christ’s commands and live for him. In Luke 14:26-33, Jesus made clear to those listening to him that discipleship was not going to be a smooth ride, and they ought to count the cost.

That remains true today. Following Jesus—not just believing in what he said and did, but obeying and living for him—often means going beyond what’s conventional for the sake of the gospel. It’s more convenient to look out for yourself than for strangers. It’s easier to hold a grudge than extend forgiveness. It’s more reasonable to deal in fairness than in grace. But for disciples of the crucified Christ, sacrifice is not just a possibility, it’s a privilege.

So just as Lindsey and I did before heading to the beach, I hope you will count the cost of following Jesus. I hope you will look with open eyes at what is expected of Christ’s disciples—not just doctrinal belief, but faith at work. I hope you will seek not just to listen to Jesus, but to live for him. And if you do, I trust you will discover what we have on our beach trip: the reward is worth the cost.