Daily Journal Tuesday 23rd of February 2010

Counting the Cost

S - '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 but wasn't able to finish." ' Luke 14:28-30

O - There's a cost to being Jesus' disciple. Like building a tower I have to estimate the cost. "Jesus doesn't want people to make a blind naive commitment to him" (Notes in TNIV Study Bible). This would be like saying "I want to build but I can't afford to pay." So many people begin to follow Jesus mistakenly thinking that it's not going to cost them in any way. What could go wrong? How can it be anything but sunshine be ahead? The problem is that when tough times actually come (and they do come) the way we respond has a great deal to do with whether or not we have counted the cost. If we have, these times, often, are the very events and struggles that build strength in our lives and help us stand firm for the long term.

A - When I face difficulties, when I experience temptations, when I grow weary, I want to remember the great foundations that have been laid and all that God has done in my life in the past. But more than that. I want to remember that being Jesus' disciple is costly and that tough times are expected (in fact essential) in building a strong tower. I will see them as just part of the cost of following Jesus.

P - Father, you gave your Son so that I could be your disciple. It cost you greatly. May I live with great thanks and with eyes fixed on you as I build my life on you.

Daily Reading - Luke 14