A Worthwhile Challenge (Friday Devotional)

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 

- Luke 14:27-28

On Wednesday morning, my family and I set out for a road trip to Colorado. After many hours of driving, we stopped for dinner in Amarillo at the legendary Big Texan steakhouse, which is most famous for its 72 oz. steak challenge—anyone who can eat a steak of that size in an hour gets their meal for free.

Naturally, the kids thought one of us should try the challenge. After all, those who do so get lots of attention in the restaurant—an announcement to the whole place, a table in the center of the restaurant, and a timer counting down your meal. But what we had to explain to the kids was that there is a price to the challenge—if you pulled it off, it was free, but for those who failed, the meal cost a cool $72. As exciting as it seemed to take the challenge, it was not something to be attempted lightly.

Jesus offers that kind of warning to those who would seek to follow him—it’s not all walking on water and multiplying loaves and fishes. Indeed, even before his death at Calvary, he warned that anyone who thought they understood his message must be prepared to pick up their cross and follow him. Being a disciple of Jesus comes at a cost.

The church, with its emphasis on salvation by grace through faith, doesn’t always remember to share that part of the message. People hear the news that Jesus offers them forgiveness and redemption and eternal life, and that this comes by his work, not theirs. And praise God for the truth of that message!

The key is for us to know and to share the fullness of the gospel message—that following Jesus comes at a cost, and it’s more than worth the price. “In this world you will have trouble,” the Lord said, “but take heart—-I have overcome the world.”  Today, may you count the cost of obedience to Christ—and may you find it worth the while every time.