Counting the Cost

Luke 9:23-26
​
And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." 

...............
​
There is a cost to following Jesus, and the cost is your life.
​
This chapter provides several examples of disciples who were not paying the cost and following Jesus as they should. They were:

-Being ruled by doubt rather than trusting the power of God to heal and provide (v. 13 & 30).
-Claiming greatness and exclusivity for yourself rather than child-like gratitude and grace toward others (v. 46-56).
-Putting any earthly priority ahead of the demands of God's kingdom (v. 47-52).
-Having merely the right answers without a willingness to obey at any cost (v. 20).
​
Verses 23-26 give the core summary statement of the chapter and elaborate on what real discipleship looks like: Christ crucified. Jesus showed us in his life and death what obedience to God was all about. It looks like:

-denying yourself on a daily basis,
-looking to the needs of others,
-being sensitive to the leadership of the Spirit,
-being willing to lose what is most dear to you for his sake,
-setting your face on the calling he has for you,
-never being ashamed of him or his words
​
This chapter leaves me shuddering, knowing how often I have failed to honor my God and king who has given so much for me. But Jesus does not tell us to lose our lives and deny ourselves as an end in itself. This is not mere asceticism. This is about gaining something greater than anything the world can offer. It is the man who loses his small petty life of empty pleasures who will ultimately be welcomed by God when he comes with his angels to judge the world. You must lose this life in order to save your eternal soul. And that is a prize well worth the cost, even a daily cost of putting off the old desires and putting on the likeness of Christ (Col. 3:1-17).
​
Lord, have mercy to grant me new eyes to see the things I crave and covet in this world are so small and petty compared to the greatness of knowing you and living for you each day. Help me to believe that by laying down my life for others, I will find true joy, if not in this life, then most definitely in the New Heavens and New Earth. Help me to believe like Paul:
​
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)